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Martine Rose Takes Balenciaga Into the Avant-Garde

Kering has named Martine Rose creative director of Balenciaga and set the house on an avant-garde course, in line with Luca de Meo’s strategy. The London designer, who built her label on subculture, music and identity, starts on 16 November 2026.

Eva Winterer

Martine Rose takes Balenciaga into the avant-garde. Kering appointed the London designer creative director of the house on 6 November 2026, a day after announcing the departure of Pierpaolo Piccioli. Luca de Meo, Kering’s chief executive, said her appointment reflected the ambition “to keep Balenciaga at the forefront of innovation, creativity and culture”. Under his strategy, every Kering house has a clear role, and for Balenciaga that role is radical creativity. Rose will be based in Paris and starts on 16 November.

Piccioli 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.

Martine Rose and her workSwipe →
Black-and-white portrait of Martine Rose, smiling, with curly hair and a white T-shirt.
Martine Rose, creative director of Balenciaga from 16 November 2026. Courtesy of Kering
A look from the Martine Rose Spring/Summer 2026 campaign by Camille Vivier; Martine Rose is the new Balenciaga creative director
Martine Rose built her label on subculture, music and identity. Spring/Summer 2026 campaign by Camille Vivier. Courtesy of Martine Rose
A model in a ROSE football shirt from the Martine Rose Autumn/Winter 2025 collection
Football, music and the codes of the street run through her collections, here Autumn/Winter 2025. Courtesy of Martine Rose
A tailored jacket worn over lace from the Martine Rose Spring/Summer 2026 campaign
Her tailoring plays with familiar archetypes of everyday dress. Spring/Summer 2026 campaign by Camille Vivier. Courtesy of Martine Rose
A group of models in the Martine Rose Autumn/Winter 2025 collection
Her casting brings different generations and communities together, here Autumn/Winter 2025. Courtesy of Martine Rose

● In brief

The designer. Martine Rose founded her label in 2007 and built it on subculture, music, identity and the social codes of dress. Her work questions the conventions of fashion and masculinity. She has also worked as a consultant and collaborator for artists and brands, including on Balenciaga’s menswear under Demna.

The appointment. Luca de Meo, Kering’s chief executive, called Balenciaga “a House of radical creativity” and said Rose embodied this spirit with “a fresh, fearless and deeply contemporary vision”. He pointed to her connection to the new generation and her understanding of culture. Gianfranco Gianangeli, Balenciaga’s president and chief executive, praised her ability to challenge conventions and reinvent silhouettes. Rose said she would honour the house’s legacy and create “the next chapter in this rich and beautiful story”.

The departure. On 5 November, Gianangeli thanked Piccioli for reaffirming the couture origins of the house. De Meo spoke of building on its avant-garde spirit. Piccioli joined in July 2025 as Demna’s successor, after 25 years at Valentino. He showed his last Balenciaga collection 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.

● Why it matters

The appointment reverses the direction Balenciaga took in 2025. Piccioli had been hired to take the house back to the cut and craft of Cristóbal Balenciaga. Rose brings it closer to the culture that made Balenciaga famous in the Demna years, when she worked on its menswear. De Meo’s words on her appointment point the same way, to radical creativity, culture and the new generation.

Kering named Rose a day after announcing Piccioli’s departure. Trade reports had named her as his likely successor since late October. The succession at Balenciaga is the first of three to be settled. Saint Laurent and McQueen have yet to name their new creative leadership, while Demna is in his second year at Gucci.

Kering’s own figures show where the new designer will be measured. Ready-to-wear and shoes remained under pressure in the third quarter, while leather goods held up. Ready-to-wear is where a designer’s work is most visible, and shoes drove the house’s growth in the Demna years.

Rose also arrives in de Meo’s model of creative leadership. After Kering’s 2025 results, he said designers had for too long been treated as the saviours of their brands. He sees them as part of a wider team. Her first collection will show how Balenciaga combines the culture of its recent past with the craft of its founder. It will also shape what its clients find in its stores in 2027.

The Kering owl emblem; The Renaulution of Luxury, the reading on Luca de Meo's strategy for Kering Continue · The reading The Renaulution of Luxury: How Platforms Meet the Ateliers Luca de Meo brings the logic of the car industry to Kering: shared platforms, clear roles for each house and a three-phase plan to 2030. Read on →

Sources

  • Kering, Martine Rose appointed Creative Director of Balenciaga, 6 November 2026: kering.com
  • 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