THROUGH quiet scenes of models lounging on white-sheeted queen beds and sunlight spilling across polished parquet floors, Pierpaolo Piccioli introduces his vision for Balenciaga.
Unveiled on the 22 October 2025 following Piccioli’s runway debut as creative director, the campaign marks a clear shift in tone for Balenciaga. Known for his poetic approach to design, Piccioli brings warmth and humanity to a brand long associated with architectural rigour and subversive cool. Captured by British photographer David Sims, the new campaign feels both casual and luxurious, offering a glimpse into a house entering a new emotional era.
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut campaign for Balenciaga
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut campaign for Balenciaga
Piccioli took over Balenciaga from Demna, whose tenure was marked by bold silhouettes and a provocative approach to contemporary fashion. Piccioli’s debut emphasises a delicate, more intimate aesthetic, focusing on fluid designs and personal storytelling while maintaining the house’s refined heritage.
Models Mona Tougaard and Sandra Murray embody this transformation. Captured inside the 18th-century Hôtel de Maisons Pozzo di Borgo in Paris, they sit framed by natural light, surrounded by the soft grandeur of the space. The mood is unforced, spontaneous, and sincere, a study in modern femininity defined by ease rather than excess.
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut campaign for Balenciaga
Piccioli’s silhouettes reflect this new energy. They are fluid yet structured, delicate yet commanding. The clothes invite movement and closeness, speaking to a vision of beauty rooted in emotion and authenticity. His Balenciaga woman is not styled to perfection but seen as she is, real, graceful, and self-possessed.
The campaign also reaffirms two of the house’s enduring icons, the Rodeo and Le City bags. Symbols of Balenciaga’s dual identity, they balance practicality with allure and connect the brand’s past innovations to Piccioli’s forward-looking sensibility.
With this first chapter, Piccioli sets the tone for a Balenciaga that values sincerity over spectacle. Through light, texture, and human presence, he redefines what luxury looks like today: not distant or untouchable, but quietly powerful, a celebration of softness as strength.
by Ellis Dowle