Rumors have been swirling for a while that Pierpaolo Piccioli’s time at Balenciaga was drawing to a close and now the proverbial axe has finally fallen. According to a release posted on Kering’s website today, Piccioli is officially departing the brand effective immediately.
“We are deeply grateful for Pierpaolo’s contribution to Balenciaga,” said Gianfranco Gianangeli, president and CEO of Balenciaga. “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.”
Piccioli is just the latest in a series of creative shakeups that have rocked Kering brands the last few weeks. First, Anthony Vaccarello announced his departure from Saint Laurent after more than 10 years, then Seán McGirr was released from McQueen after just three years. The length of McGirr’s tenure was positively luxurious compared to Piccioli’s, though. The former Valentino creative director officially took the reigns at Balenciaga on July 10, 2025. And now, less than 16 months later, he is out too.
“Pierpaolo is an exceptional couturier and creative talent for whom we have the greatest respect,” said Kering CEO (and architect of the current creative culling) Luca de Meo, who took over at the luxury conglomerate in September of last year. “Our ambition is to build on Balenciaga avant garde spirit, honor its remarkable heritage and continue to push creative boundaries, further establishing the House as a powerful and relevant voice.”
Balenciaga by Pierpaolo Piccioli Fall 2026
To that end, rumor has it that Piccioli will soon be replaced by Martine Rose, who spent a number of years designing Balenciaga’s menswear under Demna and runs her own namesake brand .
Demna lead Balenciaga from 2015 to 2025, raising the brand’s profile and annual revenue from around $350 million to $1.5 billion during that time. He was then brought over to Gucci to replace outgoing creative director Sabato De Sarno, who himself had replaced Alessandro Michele.
Michele was Gucci’s creative director from 2015 to 2022, during which time he helped grow the brand’s annual revenue from around $4 billion to well over $10 billion. A massive success. But not big enough, apparently. At the time of Michele’s departure, rumor had it that Kering’s then-CEO François-Henri Pinault was unwilling to give him a raise he had been asking for and was hoping a new designer would be able to grow the brand faster. Big mistake, if true, as Gucci’s revenue for 2025 is estimated at around $6 billion and things only seem to have gotten worse under Demna.
Piccioli, meanwhile, was one of fashion’s brightest stars during his 25 years at Valentino, helping grown the business to around $1.5 billion annually. But he seems to have been given an impossible task at Balenciaga, where he was expected to blend Demna’s street style sensibility with his own couture savoir-faire — a difficult proposition for any designer.
Maybe Rose will have better luck at Balenciaga than Piccioli did. She’ll have to work fast, though. It looks like de Meo and Kering’s board are not going to wait.
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