Pierpaolo Piccioli Steps Down As Creative Director of Balenciaga

Pierpaolo Piccioli is leaving Balenciaga after less than two years. The news was confirmed on Thursday by Gianfranco Gianangeli, the lable’s president and CEO.

“We are deeply grateful for Pierpaolo’s contribution to Balenciaga,” Gianangeli said. “Through his vision, he reaffirmed the couture origins of the house, bringing his considered approach to craftsmanship, construction and creativity. I would like to sincerely thank him for his dedication, generosity and collaboration.”

The Italian designer originally took on the role in May 2025 following both his predecessor Demna’s departure for Gucci and his own exit form Valentino in 2024. Though the romantic, colorful aesthetic he etablished at Valentino varied drastically from Demna’s streetware-savvy and often subversive work, expectations were originally high. Piccioli proved had proved his immense couture abilities, and it was assumed those talents would transfer over to the Balenciaga couturier. Many predicted a return to the classic innovative form of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s original collections.

But Piccioli struggled in the position, thanks in part to his predecessor. Demna, though controversial, brought a very specific vision to his Balenciaga, which proved to be successful. “I didn’t want to come here to find the same people with the same experiences,” Piccioli told W of his goals when starting at Balenciaga. “I wanted to face something new.” Unfortunately, it seems like the brand’s parent company, Kering, had other ideas. Reports suggest that Kering wanted to continue pushing an edgier and youthful look for Balenciaga, but that has never been Piccioli’s forte.

Piccioli showed his first collection for the brand in October 2025 as part of the spring 2026 season. As expected, he dove into the Balenciaga archives, presenting a collection of color-blocked looks with voluminous proportions that riffed on Balenciaga’s 1957 sack dress with oversized sunglasses to match. For fall/winter 2026, he presented darker offerings—including a collaboration with the HBO show Euphoria—which received lukewarm reviews. Notably, sales of menswear, a source of growth under Demna, have taken a dip since Piccioli’s appointment.

According to Vogue Business, Balenciaga’s parent company, Kering, said that in Q2 of 2026, “Balenciaga faced a more challenging quarter.” The third quarter, meanwhile, was also “challenging” for the brand.

You can’t say Piccioli didn’t try, though. A pre-fall collection alluded to the world of sports and was followed up by a collaboration with the NBA, perhaps Piccioli’s attempt to court streetwear fans. He maintained relationships with famous faces, dressing Demi Moore for the Vanity Fair Oscar Party and Cannes red carpet this year and recently adorning many stars, including Mikey Madison and Tracee Ellis Ross, for the Academy Museum Gala. But not all of his celebrity placements worked. Hudson William’s was ridiculed for his baby blue matador-adjacent Balenciaga suit at the 2026 Met Gala, and the look Shailene Woodley wore to the Emmys in September was meme’d to death online.

While Piccioli’s future is unclear, we have a bit more insight into Balenciaga’s succession plan. Kering has said that the brand’s new creative director will be announced shortly. Of course, rumors are already floating around, and it is believed that Martine Rose will step into the position. It will mark a homecoming for the British-Jamaican designer who acted as a menswear advisor for Demna’s Balenciaga. This choice would prove that Kering is looking to focus on Balenciaga’s menswear, as that is Rose’s bread and butter. Her eponymous label, which she founded in 2007, has been a cult favorite for years, but a 2021 acquisition by the brand accelerator Tomorrow left Martine Rose floundering. The Balenciaga appointment is an exciting prospect. Not only would Rose be the first woman to design for the brand, but the job would also provide Rose with a larger budget than she’s ever had control over, and who knows what creative genius could come from that.