Breaking news from the fashion backstage - It's official! Pierpaolo Piccioli, ex-Artistic Director of Valentino and king of red couture, is to take over the reigns of Balenciaga. It's the end of the road for Demna, who will bid farewell to the house after its final Haute Couture show in July 2025, before heading off to Gucci. And yes, after the latest updates at Dior Homme and Jean-Paul Gaultier, it's the turn of the two star designers to swap catwalks.
Piccioli is all about Roman elegance, poetic volumes and Italian tailoring. Pierpaolo originally trained at Fendi, where he designed accessories alongside Maria Grazia Chiuri. The duo then moved on to Valentino, climbing the ranks and, in 2008, taking the creative reins. Going solo from 2016, Piccioli injected a dose of modern poetry into the Italian house: celestial silhouettes, chromatic explosions (the famous PP pink!), and a strong commitment to inclusive beauty. He bowed out in March 2024, leaving behind a house vibrant with emotion.
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But now the couturier is getting out his pins for a brand new challenge: Balenciaga. The label, which under Demna has become a laboratory for conceptual fashion, is getting a new lease of life with this virtuoso of cut and drape. A couture renaissance? To be followed by the first collection, scheduled for October 2025.
Suffice to say, the fall season promises to be tailor-made! Stay stitched, fashion never sleeps...
