Up Close With Pierpaolo's Best (and Maybe Last) Balenciaga Collection
If this is Pierpaolo Piccioli's final Balenciaga collection, he's going out on a high note. Make that a light note: the designer's Spring/Summer 2027 Balenci lineup is easily the house's most delicate in modern history.
Rumors of Piccioli's Balenciaga departure have been popping off online for a few weeks now, with not a grain of substance backing them up. And though plenty of designers are always rumored to leave plenty of houses, this is more than just the usual rumor mill at work — or so it feels.
Not that you'd know it from Piccioli's latest Balenciaga offering.
In his strongest season to date, the Valentino veteran proposed a convincing collection of approachably elegant garments under the theme of "lightness," he told Highsnobiety backstage. "Balenciaga is all about shape, lightness, volume," he said, underscoring that until now, lightness "has been a bit forgotten."
Highsnobiety went up close with Piccioli's latest at a post-runway re-see in Paris and, indeed, this is soft stuff. It's beautifully light in both tone and weight.
Whereas Piccioli's predecessor, Demna, steered the house towards gigantic dragging jeans and gigantic-er heavyweight shoes, the contemporary Balenciaga is feeling fabulously floaty.
You've seen torso-swallowing Balenciaga bomber jackets before but they've never felt so breezy. Giant Balenciaga cargos are now shockingly graceful, even in their vase-like bulge. And who could've expected Balenciaga sneakers so crispy they literally fold up into themselves? In fact, most of the shoes are either low profile or, uh, absurdly low profile, their leather uppers pre-crumpled.
There was a move towards airier stuff in the latter days of Demna's Balenciaga but it was sparse. Likewise, Piccioli's Balenciaga hasn't felt this light before — or as cohesive.
Is it unfair to compare two different creative directors? Maybe so, because the best thing about Demna's Balenciaga was often that it often produced the kind of clothes anyone could wear anywhere (and often did). All of luxury could take a page from that book.
Piccioli is most comfortable with flashy indulgence, rather than grab-and-go wearables. And his latest is still rich with flouncy gowns and applique-laden skirts, but the best bits are clever and cool, riffing on his athleisure-leaning "Techwear" motif — layered shirts fitted with coaches-style pull tabs and those amazing bombers — without being fashion-as-fantasy aloof. Very nice.
Turns out, Balenciaga's lightest collection ever is also Piccioli's most grounded.
Highsnobiety has affiliate marketing partnerships, which means we may receive a commission from your purchase. Want to shop the products our editors actually love? Visit our SHOPPER page and subscribe to the newsletter for recs on all things fashion, footwear, and beauty.
