Kering’s Third Designer Exit in Four Weeks: Pierpaolo Piccioli Leaves Balenciaga
Pierpaolo Piccioli is leaving Balenciaga after 16 months as creative director, Kering said on 5 November 2026. He is the third designer to leave a Kering fashion house in less than four weeks. Saint Laurent announced Anthony Vaccarello’s departure on 9 October, and McQueen that of Seán McGirr on 15 October. Balenciaga will announce its new creative direction shortly.
● In brief
The announcement. Gianfranco Gianangeli, Balenciaga’s president and chief executive, thanked Piccioli for reaffirming the couture origins of the house. Luca de Meo, Kering’s chief executive, called him an exceptional couturier. He said the group would build on Balenciaga’s avant-garde spirit and make it “a powerful and relevant voice”.
The tenure. Kering appointed Piccioli in May 2025, and he joined in July as Demna’s successor. Demna had moved to Gucci after a decade at Balenciaga. Piccioli spent 25 years at Valentino, the last eight as sole creative director. He showed his first Balenciaga collection in October 2025 and his last in Paris on 1 October 2026.
The numbers. Kering’s revenue for the third quarter, published on 22 October, came to €3.35bn, down 1 per cent on a comparable basis. The group said Balenciaga had been resilient in leather goods, while ready-to-wear and shoes remained challenged. De Meo said Kering was doubling down on the renewal of Balenciaga and McQueen.
The successor. Martine Rose, the London designer who worked on Balenciaga’s menswear under Demna, has been widely reported as Piccioli’s likely successor. Kering has not confirmed this.
● Why it matters
The two statements on Piccioli’s departure pull in different directions. Balenciaga’s chief executive praised the return to couture, while Kering’s emphasised the avant-garde. Piccioli had been hired to bring the house back to the cut and craft of Cristóbal Balenciaga. Under Demna, it had spent ten years building its fame on streetwear and sneakers.
Kering’s own figures show where the pressure lies. Leather goods, Balenciaga’s steadiest business, held up. Ready-to-wear, where a designer’s work is most visible, remained under pressure, and so did shoes, which drove the house’s growth in the Demna years.
The three exits span very different tenures: a decade at Saint Laurent, about three years at McQueen and 16 months at Balenciaga. After Kering’s 2025 results, de Meo said designers had for too long been treated as the saviours of their brands. He sees them as part of a wider team, and Saint Laurent’s next creative set-up is being built on that model.
Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and McQueen will all announce new creative leadership in the coming months, while Demna is in his second year at Gucci. The choice at Balenciaga will show which of the two statements sets the course: the couture Piccioli brought back, or the avant-garde spirit de Meo wants to build on. It will also decide what Balenciaga’s clients find in its stores next year.
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Sources
- Kering, Balenciaga announces the departure of Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli, 5 November 2026: kering.com
- Kering, Revenue for the third quarter of 2026, 22 October 2026: kering.com
- Balenciaga, the house and its collections: balenciaga.com