Pierpaolo Piccioli - Designer, Creative Director of Balenciaga

[aa2005]

I am gonna read this thread when I have time, but the new perfume glimpse is quite lackluster. I would have love it if they can make something sensual or passionate like scenes (maybe less erotic) of Tilda Swinton and Edoardo Gabbriellini in "Io sono l'amore".

This Clinique ad whoever’s idea is not working. After decades of being the it/cool brand from clothing to marketing etc under demna and NG it will be interesting to see how he does with it. I never found PPP Valentino great and for women’s always one note and the menswear was atrocious. The marketing was consistently all over the place too. Idk who I would’ve preferred over him but I’m not really looking forward to his tenure or him being back in general.

 

[jeanclaude]

A perfume based on the rose...WOW, this is a never-ending parade of visionaries!!

 

[ellearchivist]

The anticipation for this debut is not high at all! The fact that this thread was dormant for the past few months says it all.

 

[helmutnotdead]

yeah I am not afraid to say that we couldn’t care less about this. the only one that matters is Matthieu

 

[TurkicMongol]

The anticipation for this debut is not high at all! The fact that this thread was dormant for the past few months says it all.

I don't think people have any anticipation at all. He was good for Valentino when working as a duo and had one or two good couture shows as an independent, but the question is how his small base of clientele is going to maintain this brand even supposing we count on all those conservative couture clients jump to him. He cannot sell RTW! I think PPP is the equivalent of Burton at Givenchy. We will once again need fashion journalist to tell us he is "creating silhouettes of prettiness of the moment that many customers crave for'.

 

[yslforever]

yeah I am not afraid to say that we couldn’t care less about this. the only one that matters is Matthieu

And I am pretty sure men are 50% of the Balenciaga customers until now, but his menswear at Valentino was abysmal though I have no hope....

 

[Lola701]

They should re-release Balenciaga Paris. That was a great fragrance.

For me, you can’t simply go back to the elegance of Cristobal. Balenciaga has to be an hybrid between what Demna and Nicolas did. Something that has a street-edge. And street is a broad term.
I think Demna by leaning towards tshirts and sweats went too far.

Balenciaga will have to be directional enough and he will have to be courageous enough to lose clients.

The Demna fans are really young and I think they connect with his work beyond a pure aesthetic approach so I don’t believe that they will follow the new Balenciaga.

But first, can they change the logo?

 

[aa2005]

The anticipation for this debut is not high at all! The fact that this thread was dormant for the past few months says it all.

I just did a doom scroll of PPP ig and we really didn’t need him returning. The gimmicks of bright colors and him with those stupid sunglasses always acting like he just did the coolest thing but it’s another hot pink ostrich feather monstrosity with stripper heels again. I just don’t see him having a modern POV that will reach the customers of Balenciaga or create new ones but who knows. I think they already are and will continue to have a mass exodus of customers though. Someone like Nicolas di Felice even would have made more sense for this appointment.

 

[FashionPower]

They're gonna be fine as long as he churns out some quirky sneakers and a nice bag every other season. The brand feels more relatable compared to YSL to the average customer. The kiddos with no fashion knowledge / interest can get their 3XL, hoodies and tshirts, the budget girlies can get their City bags (I think Balenciaga is one of fery few brands offering a full leather bag at 2k retail price), the elevated girlies can get their Rodeo and Bel Air, the elevated men can also get their high profile bags or the quirkiest sneakers. I think the brand offering is much better and much more diversified than YSL that look like an escort / influencer showing off brand and Bottega that is currently only relying on the Andiamo Bag.
Remember that under PPP we had the VLTN line from Sabato (terrible and obnoxious but very successful) and several iterations of the rockstud sneaker. I don't think Balenciaga suits were expecting such huge commercial success for both Rodeo and Bel Air bags...had they been released for YSL they would have turned even more successful.
Under PPP I am expecting Valentino 2.0 for couture, less dystopic streetstyle for menswear RTW and a blend of NG 2010's Balenciaga for womenswear RTW.

 

[LadyJunon]

The return of Le Dix:

 

[aa2005]

The return of Le Dix:

These are hilariously bad just from a visual standpoint for IG as posts. It’s like one of those ecards your mom sends that need a browser to open. Marketing already all over the place. Also why are we launching on fragrances?

 

[LadyJunon]

They're gonna be fine as long as he churns out some quirky sneakers and a nice bag every other season. The brand feels more relatable compared to YSL to the average customer. The kiddos with no fashion knowledge / interest can get their 3XL, hoodies and tshirts, the budget girlies can get their City bags (I think Balenciaga is one of fery few brands offering a full leather bag at 2k retail price), the elevated girlies can get their Rodeo and Bel Air, the elevated men can also get their high profile bags or the quirkiest sneakers. I think the brand offering is much better and much more diversified than YSL that look like an escort / influencer showing off brand and Bottega that is currently only relying on the Andiamo Bag.
Remember that under PPP we had the VLTN line from Sabato (terrible and obnoxious but very successful) and several iterations of the rockstud sneaker. I don't think Balenciaga suits were expecting such huge commercial success for both Rodeo and Bel Air bags...had they been released for YSL they would have turned even more successful.

This. Despite all of Balenciaga's flaws, that brand is merchandised to perfection. If you can look past Demna's penchant for grotesque visuals, there's pretty for every main luxury demographic. All PPP really needs to do is to scrub off the grime. Meanwhile, Vaccarello is so centered on curating this decadent femme fatale visual that they virtually neglect everything else.

 

[tricotineacetat]

They should re-release Balenciaga Paris. That was a great fragrance.

For me, you can’t simply go back to the elegance of Cristobal. Balenciaga has to be an hybrid between what Demna and Nicolas did. Something that has a street-edge. And street is a broad term.
I think Demna by leaning towards tshirts and sweats went too far.

Balenciaga will have to be directional enough and he will have to be courageous enough to lose clients.

The Demna fans are really young and I think they connect with his work beyond a pure aesthetic approach so I don’t believe that they will follow the new Balenciaga.

But first, can they change the logo?

None of the presently considered designers for top jobs would be likely to come up with a Balenciaga like that, it simply does not align with the Zeitgeist and the blatant commerciality with which Demna’s Balenciaga played out a young audience’s aeathetic against the houses’ heritage.

With Kering’s revenues at such a steep decline, it’s certain that Piccioli’s task will be to provide stability for the entire group - For that matter, Balenciaga cannot be a maison couture for a niche audience.

 

[Kennnnn]

I am gonna read this thread when I have time, but the new perfume glimpse is quite lackluster. I would have love it if they can make something sensual or passionate like scenes (maybe less erotic) of Tilda Swinton and Edoardo Gabbriellini in "Io sono l'amore".

Balenciaga - shot on an iPhone.

 

[HigthaVandah]

Is that PPP's art direction?

 

[Alquimista]

Jesus, he's gonna scare all of the male customers. His aesthetic is too colorful pottery lady for the hypebeast.

 

[zoom]

Can't imagine he'll be attracting any of the hypebeast crowd honestly. That train left the station with Demna. Hope they're ready for the bottom to fall out of their already sagging profits.

 

[reese06]

They're gonna be fine as long as he churns out some quirky sneakers and a nice bag every other season. The brand feels more relatable compared to YSL to the average customer. The kiddos with no fashion knowledge / interest can get their 3XL, hoodies and tshirts, the budget girlies can get their City bags (I think Balenciaga is one of fery few brands offering a full leather bag at 2k retail price), the elevated girlies can get their Rodeo and Bel Air, the elevated men can also get their high profile bags or the quirkiest sneakers. I think the brand offering is much better and much more diversified than YSL that look like an escort / influencer showing off brand and Bottega that is currently only relying on the Andiamo Bag.
Remember that under PPP we had the VLTN line from Sabato (terrible and obnoxious but very successful) and several iterations of the rockstud sneaker. I don't think Balenciaga suits were expecting such huge commercial success for both Rodeo and Bel Air bags...had they been released for YSL they would have turned even more successful.
Under PPP I am expecting Valentino 2.0 for couture, less dystopic streetstyle for menswear RTW and a blend of NG 2010's Balenciaga for womenswear RTW.

PPP came out with decent sneakers but certainly not the same wavelength as Demna.

The merchandising of balenciaga is supported by a strong direction of Demna.

PPP’s instincts will likely lean toward beauty, much like he did at Valentino. But Balenciaga today requires more than that. Nicolas and Demna both understood that the house’s DNA, Cristóbal’s obsession with silhouette, wasn’t something to be preservers and regarded as precious . They both subverted it, twisted it, and reimagined it through their own lens. That’s why their work resonates as both high fashion and culturally relevant to this day, even if Demna got lost a bit in the later years

Even for all his grotesque and ugly visuals, it was considered “high fashion” and “cool”


PPP rtw is boring and I imagine this brand having the same struggle givenchy had when Tisci left.

He may give us some cute sky high platforms. His menswear is beyond basic though

 

[tourbillions]

The return of Le Dix:

stale as old as time.

 

[PDFSD]

BOF​

Balenciaga Launches New Fine Fragrance Collection​

Inspired by an original perfume created in the 1940s and long discontinued, the 10-piece collection will be available to purchase on Wednesday from select Balenciaga boutiques.

The full line up includes scents named 100% and No Comment. (Courtesy)

By Daniela Morosini
10 September 2025
BoF PROFESSIONAL

On Wednesday, Balenciaga will launch its first contemporary fine fragrance collection. The 10 perfumes, priced at $320 each, will be available in select Balenciaga boutiques in Europe and North America and its e-commerce site, while two discovery sets of differing smaller sizes of each scent will be available for $85 and $395 respectively. A more global rollout will follow.

The scents are an extension and a modern reinterpretation of Le Dix, a perfume created by Cristóbal Balenciaga in the 1940s. After sourcing an original bottle of the scent from a private collector, the Kering-owned fashion house began reimagining the fragrance for the modern customer, and developing a range including No Comment (woody with green notes), Muscara (smoky ambrette and iris) and 100% (rich Rose Damascena). The original Le Dix, named for the fashion house’s historic address at No. 10 Avenue George in Paris and redolent with powdery iris, is updated with aldehydes to add a contemporary sharpness, and is a hero SKU of the line.

With its launch, Balenciaga is spanning both old and new. The bottle design closely mimics that of the original line-up, with a heavy glass cap, hand-tied ribbon and rectangular bottles, evoking the glamour and decadence of the era. But other touches are decidedly more contemporary — the box that houses the smaller discovery scents opens like a cigarette packet, is a dark monochrome grey and features Balenciaga’s modern sans serif typeface.


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The "Le Dix" set is classic and luxurious. (Courtesy)

The "Discovery Box" looks modern. (Courtesy)

The launch comes at a precipitous time both for the fragrance industry and for Kering, as the former is showing initial signs of a contraction in its growth, and luxury peers like Bottega Veneta, Rabanne and Balmain who recently debuted fine fragrance collections are navigating their expansion. Fellow Kering stablemate Bottega Veneta’s offering is priced at $450, Rabanne’s at $315 while popular niche brands like Roja Dove and Maison Francis Kurkdjian also sell perfumes for over $300. (Balenciaga previously made perfumes like Florabotanica at a lower price point.)

For Kering, which launched a dedicated beauty division in 2023, successfully making a mark in fragrance could help offset its ailing fashion business. The launch of fragrances both from Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, as well as its continued expansion of the perfume maker Creed which it acquired for more than $3 billion in 2023, speaks to a strategy focussed on owning premium perfumes.

Much of the movement in the perfume industry is dictated by influencers on TikTok, where esoteric and otherwise unexpected scents often prove the most popular, or brands with a strong story or provenance. Longer-lasting and more intense perfumes are also growing in popularity.