Pierpaolo Piccioli has left Balenciaga And who will come next?

If you thought the creative reset of 2025 had been surprising, think again. Luca De Meo is continuing his restructuring of Kering's maisons, accompanied by the systematic removal of nearly all pre-existing creative directors, including those who had only just been hired. And today it was Pierpaolo Piccioli's turn, as he officially departed from Balenciaga. The match had never been the most ideal: following Demna's tenure, the "new" Balenciaga had retreated toward far more conventional aesthetic positions.

Piccioli's talent for color and silhouette had achieved a great deal, but his inclination toward beauty as an end in itself, in the absence of any real aesthetic or narrative direction, resulted in collections that were formally beautiful yet somehow adrift in a narrative and contextual void. Who was the "new" Balenciaga actually for? Piccioli, who came from a very long tenure at Valentino, had originally been chosen to steer the brand back toward its more couture roots. But everyone — audiences and critics alike — was too accustomed to Balenciaga by Demna, which, following the now-distant Ghesquière years and the more forgettable Alexander Wang era, has perhaps permanently defined the brand's style and the way it is perceived.

But when one king falls, another rises: who will succeed him? Fashion's odds-makers are pointing to Martine Rose, a choice that, if confirmed, would suggest that Kering's leadership is paying close attention to market signals and online audiences. However, given the recent successes achieved by "new" designers such as Dario Vitale and Michael Rider, the choice could equally fall on a talented design director. The gamble is as risky as it is promising: Balenciaga was capable of generating enormous figures during the Demna era, and Kering right now is in desperate need of a win.