After the finale of the Balenciaga show, designer Pierpaolo Piccioli needed a therapy session. He had just shown his debut collection, which included a modern version of Cristobal Balenciaga’s famous 1957 Sack dress, as well as garments that evoked the looks of predecessors Nicolas Ghesquiere and Demna. There was a standing ovation, but that day he was looking for ‘the mistakes.’ “I’m still processing,” he said from the couture studio at the Balenciaga office in Paris. “I’m still overthinking. I’m still guessing — What if this or that? This is my process. I never stop thinking.” But that is what propels him toward the next collection. By “finding mistakes,” he means a place for growth. “That becomes the beginning point of the next season.”

Piccioli spent 25 years at Valentino, working w

See Full Page