At Haute Couture Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2026, Pierpaolo Piccioli officially launched the first Haute Couture collection for Balenciaga. The show took place in the courtyard of Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, marking the first time one of Italian fashion’s most iconic designers had a direct dialogue with the legacy left by Cristóbal Balenciaga.
With Piccioli, Haute Couture does not start from decorative details but from structure. He describes the design process as calculating each cut so that material, shape, color and surface become one, with the minimum amount of material and support structure. The goal is not to create a sense of sophistication, but to make the outfit appear as if it was created with a single gesture. The choice of materials or colors also does not follow a fixed formula, but comes from the designer’s intuition and personal reaction to each type of fabric.
The performance space contributes to clarifying this spirit. Rows of chairs are arranged around a manicured garden under the midday sun, instead of the usual closed scenes of Haute Couture. The wind blew through the model’s hair, simultaneously shaking the 24,150 hand-cut gazar petals that covered an oversized strapless dress. The natural movement of the air has become part of the performance, helping viewers feel how the costumes change with each wind beat instead of just standing still like a display piece.
Accompanying the show is the live voice of British singer Anohni, Piccioli’s long-time collaborator since his time working at Valentino. The music creates an emotional rhythm throughout, and also reminds of the continuity in the designer’s creative language, even though he has entered a new chapter at Balenciaga.
One of the highlights of the collection is the way Piccioli combines richly textured surfaces with streamlined silhouettes. Wide-legged pants covered in fine fibers, embroidered tubular motifs or soft fur strips appearing under the hem of a cashmere coat create many different layers of feel, while the overall shape is still strictly controlled.
Designers also continue to blur the line between Haute Couture’s tailoring and flou techniques. A seemingly simple black t-shirt dress is treated with the upper body using the vest construction technique, using a canvas construction layer to shape the structure, while the skirt part falls freely from the same material. The same principle appears on a black strapless evening dress, with the corset creating a slight ridge extending across the hips, covered with layers of chiffon frills that move with each step.
During the pre-show introduction, Piccioli spent a lot of time talking about the work of the Haute Couture workshop. He introduced a Stockman mannequin with a high neck and back shaped like a turtle’s shell, hand-molded by artisans in leather and cashmere before perfecting the shape. This technique created jackets with clean lines in profile, and paved the way for gazar silk bombers with puffed sleeves and blocky backs. These are designs that show how Balenciaga continues to exploit the language of sculpture through fashion.
At the end of the show, the shapes were pushed to a larger scale through a series of evening dresses made up of many layers of stacked fabric, reminiscent of the art of pruning bonsai. The climax belongs to Gigi Hadid in a hooded design that covers her body with layers of erect rooster feathers. The hood wraps around the face, making the body almost disappear behind the structure of the garment, closing the collection with an image that emphasizes the strength of the figure rather than the beauty of the wearer.
Daytime outfits are only available in limited quantities, including floor-length chinos and a few T-shirts and tank tops processed with high-end tailoring techniques. For Pierpaolo Piccioli, Haute Couture is first and foremost a space to nurture imagination, not a space that meets all the needs of daily life.
The show ended with prolonged applause from loyal customers, creatives and guests. Pierpaolo Piccioli stepped out to greet the audience with the entire team of artisans of the atelier in white blouses, recreating the tradition he maintained at Valentino. This image is an affirmation that behind every Haute Couture design is always the effort of a whole team.
Lesson: Hoang Bao – Fashion Columnist
