Fashion
Pierpaolo Piccioli debuts at Balenciaga, with Meghan and Lauren applauding
Published
October 5, 2025
Saturday night in Paris witnessed the debut of Pierpaolo Piccioli at one of fashion’s most mythical marques, Balenciaga. With Meghan Markle and Lauren Sanchez applauding front row, this was surely the most sophisticated new designer inauguration so far.
A collection that was all about the body and its rapport with clothing, in a beautiful, often whispery light, debut by Pierpaolo Piccioli for the legendary house of Balenciaga on a dank night in the French capital.
Piccioli clearly regards founder Cristóbal Balenciaga with awe, as a great artist who revolutionized fashion, and fabrics. Pre-show, his mood board featured images of Le Corbusier’s Colline Notre Dame du Haut church and Da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man“, suggesting the forms that PPP would develop.
A first collection presented inside a church in a perfect cruciform within a former convent, which should have pleased founder Cristóbal Balenciaga, a regular Sunday mass church goer.
The key material in this insurrection was gazar, a fabric technique that lightens and adds structure to any look. Piccioli was rightly obsessed with really digging deep into the DNA of the brand and its archive. So, he had the house manufacture special light protective body stockings live models could wear inside historic archive looks without doing any damage.
“Unless you actually see Cristóbal’s clothes move and turn on a live human body, I don’t think you fully comprehend them,” insisted Piccioli.
The result was a collection of rare elegance. Opening with faintly billowing columns, tunics and pants in organza gazar that ripped as the models walked by. But adding a dash of rock goddess chic with cocoon leather biker jackets, and a superb leather combo of truncated leather top and multifold skirt that billowed out.
Cristóbal was famed for using juxtaposed materials, something Pierpaolo played on in ivory sheaths trimmed with small fields of sliced white cock feathers.
Pre-show, the Rome-born couturier explained that he wanted to add air to his curving shapes, whether made in cotton and wool gazar, or second skin leather. He very much succeeded in the subtlest debut of the dozen so far on the four-week international calendar that ends on Tuesday.
Plus, he paired a new soft Bolero bag that one could fold and hold under arm.
Pierpaolo joined Balenciaga – a key house in French luxury group Kering – after an 18-month hiatus after leaving Valentino. He succeeded Demna, the Georgian-born designer who left to join Gucci, the largest marque in Kering.
Their visions for Balenciaga are very far apart. Demna, a refugee civil war in his native land, who had a dark dystopian vision of fashion, and life.
One of Demna’s most famous shows was set in a muddy battlefield with models dressed like battered refugees. Piccioli, by contrast, loves bright, vibrant colors. His color palette referenced the glorious colors of painters like Fontana, Rothko and Goya.
While his heroines were far more kicky and independent than the founder or Demna, opening the show with a remix of Sinead O’Conor singing “In This Heart”.
“Adding air to shapes. Making clothes that are ordinary yet extraordinary,” said Pierpaolo, explaining his goal. Staging a show of great grace, and aplomb and polish in a dark moment geopolitically and socially for the planet.
“In my view, putting your faith in humanity is the most radical act one can see today,” concluded Piccioli, who took an extended beaming bow amid a prolonged standing ovation.
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Nominal GDP, or GDP at current prices, is estimated to grow at 8.6 per cent to reach ₹345.47 trillion in FY26 against ₹318.07 trillion in 2024-25.
India’s real GDP is estimated to grow at 7.6 per cent to ₹322.58 trillion (~$3.54 billion) in FY26 compared to the first revised GDP estimate of ₹299.89 trillion for FY25 (7.1 per cent growth).
It released the new series of annual and quarterly national accounts estimates with FY23 base.
Real GVA is projected to grow at 7.7 per cent to reach ₹294.40 trillion in FY26 against ₹273.36 trillion in FY25.
Real gross value added (GVA) is projected to grow at 7.7 per cent to reach ₹294.40 trillion in FY26 against ₹273.36 trillion in FY25 (a 7.3-per cent growth rate).
Nominal GVA is estimated to grow at 8.7 per cent to hit ₹313.61 trillion during FY26, against ₹288.54 lakh crore in 2024-25.
Robust economic performance in FY26 is primarily on account of robust real growth observed in the second quarter (8.4 per cent) and third quarter (7.8 per cent).
The manufacturing sector has been the major driver of resilient performance of the economy the consecutive three fiscals after rebasing, a release from the ministry said.
Both private final consumption expenditure and grossed fixed capital formation exhibited more than 7-per cent growth rate in FY26.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
The transition marks the formal handover of executive leadership to President and CEO Keun-Chang (Kevin) Yoon, reinforcing management continuity while preserving the founder’s long-term strategic vision.
Misto Holdings founder Gene Yoon has transitioned to honorary chairman in a planned leadership succession, formally handing executive control to president and CEO Kevin Yoon.
The founder, who expanded the group through the FILA global trademark acquisition and the takeover of Acushnet, will continue guiding long-term strategy as the rebranded Misto focuses on governance and sustainable growth.
Gene Yoon founded the business that would become Misto Holdings in the early 1990s, introducing the FILA brand to the Korean market and later leading a series of transformative transactions. In 2007, the company acquired the global FILA trademark rights through a leveraged buyout, followed by the 2011 acquisition of Acushnet Company, owner of the Titleist and FootJoy brands. The transaction was among the largest cross-border deals in Korea’s consumer sector at the time and significantly expanded the group’s global footprint.
Under his leadership, the company evolved into a multi-brand global portfolio spanning sportswear, golf equipment and apparel, generating approximately USD 3.08 billion in annual revenue.
As Honorary Chairman, Gene Yoon will remain closely engaged with the company, providing guidance on long-term strategy and global portfolio development while supporting management from a broader strategic perspective.
The leadership transition marks a new chapter under President and CEO Kevin Yoon, who has spent nearly two decades in senior roles across the group’s global operations, building deep operational and strategic expertise.
The company’s 2025 rebranding to “Misto” underscores its evolution into a global brand house focused on disciplined capital allocation, enhanced shareholder returns and sustainable long-term growth.
“Building on the founder’s legacy, our priority is to expand our global portfolio, strengthen governance and deliver sustainable value creation,” said Kevin Yoon, President and CEO of Misto Holdings.
Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)
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