Piccioli is leaving Balenciaga. And that’s for the best. For him

The most predictable news story of the last quarter – namely Pierpaolo Piccioli’s departure from his role as creative director at Balenciaga, which has been covered by more or less everyone (“this morning’s ‘Il Foglio della Moda’ even mentioned the name of his possible successor, the British designer Martine Rose, who, however, has failed in recent years to get her brand off the ground – it started out and has remained a niche label, and is still unknown to the general public”) – came from the senior management of Kering, the parent company, at around six in the afternoon. Piccioli is leaving after a year; the press release is brimming with affection and exudes admiration from the fashion house’s top management, Chairman and CEO Gianfranco Gianangeli and Kering CEO Luca De Meo. However, given that, like data, press releases also require interpretation, the customary statement from the outgoing designer – that is, Piccioli himself – is missing from the text, and one can discern both the reasons for the parting and the company’s new direction. De Meo: “Pierpaolo is an exceptional couturier and a creative talent for whom we have the utmost respect. Our ambition is to champion Balenciaga’s avant-garde spirit, honour its extraordinary legacy and continue to push the boundaries of creativity, further consolidating the fashion house as an authoritative and influential voice’ (translation: we don’t need a couturier; I want back the customers Demna brought us). Gianangeli: ‘We are deeply grateful for Pierpaolo’s contribution to Balenciaga. Through his vision, he has reaffirmed the House’s couture origins, bringing his thoughtful approach to craftsmanship, construction and creativity. I would like to thank him sincerely for his dedication, generosity and collaboration” (translation: we need speed; thoughtfulness is not part of our plans).

At this point, and given that Piccioli chose not to issue a statement via Kering’s press office, instead writing a lengthy ode to bespoke fashion and his time in the industry on his own Instagram account, we would like to reiterate – as we did a month ago – that this absolute genius of imagination, of colour applied to clothing and, last but not least, of consideration for others (even during his long years at Valentino, we saw him value all his collaborators as no one else does), had been approached by Balenciaga with the promise – indeed, the request – to once again make the maison on Avenue Montaigne a beacon of couture, as well as Kering’s sole haute couture house. For Balenciaga – a name he revered – Piccioli had turned down the same offer from Givenchy. The plan, devised by Francesca Bellettini during her time as deputy CEO of the group, made perfect sense. De Meo’s arrival, the manager’s reassignment to focus solely on Gucci – which, incidentally, is still in serious trouble despite Demna – the many debts to be cleared, and the arrival of a line-up of top managers accustomed to working with approaches, methods and choices vastly different from those of the luxury sector (see the decision to entrust Gucci’s Christmas campaign to a music icon like Mariah Carey – certainly beloved by the masses but a world away from this milieu – whilst all the leading brands, from Prada to Dior, are focusing on warm, affectionate atmospheres and cartoons explicitly drawn by hand), have rendered Piccioli’s presence entirely incongruous. It must also be noted that it has not been an easy year for him: caught between a team of very young stylists – Demna’s ‘legacy’ – who were completely unfamiliar with couture, and constantly pressured to produce trainers and sweatshirts that were a world away from his sensibilities, Piccioli was certainly not working in a favourable environment. It became clear last July that things were taking a turn for the worse when, in the hours leading up to his first couture show, we spotted a large laminated leather ‘City’ bag in the corridor: apart from shoes, of course, accessories do not generally feature in couture shows. At a push, perhaps an evening minaudière – those precious, useless little trinkets. The large day-to-day handbag was clearly an order. So, that’s fine. We’ll wait for the next chapter – and the sweatshirts.