Picture this: a black sculpted gown, white elbow-length opera gloves, monumental bug-eye sunglasses, and a heavy dose of chunky crystals, which totally obscure the forehead. That was the debut look for Balenciaga’s spring 2026 collection, otherwise known as Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut for the brand. The subtle fusion of 1950s glamour with heavy contemporary aesthetics that permeated the clothes were so distinctly Balenciaga, and marked a moment of intrigue for Balenciaga, whose former creative director Demna decamped to Gucci this year.

The Paris Fashion Week crowd has been anticipating Piccioli’s Balenciaga era for weeks, making candid predictions in-between waiting for shows of other labels to start. For those unfamiliar, Piccioli is the former creative director of Valentino, and is know

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