Summary
- Kering confirmed Martine Rose as Balenciaga’s creative director on Friday, November 6; she starts November 16 in Paris
- Rose succeeds Pierpaolo Piccioli, whose exit after 16 months was announced the day before
- She is the first woman to lead Balenciaga in 109 years, and only the second Black woman to helm a major European luxury house
Balenciaga did not leave the seat empty for long. Less than a day after announcing Pierpaolo Piccioli’s departure, Kering confirmed his successor: Martine Rose, the London-based British-Jamaican designer whose subculture-rooted menswear label has been a cult favorite since 2007.
Rose is not an outsider to the house. From 2015 to 2018 she consulted on Balenciaga’s menswear under Demna, helping shape the oversized language the house is still known for. Now she gets the whole house: women’s, men’s, couture.
“It is a true privilege to be appointed Creative Director of Balenciaga, a House with an extraordinary heritage and a fearless creative spirit,” Rose said. She is the first creative-director hire by Kering CEO Luca de Meo, and only the second Black woman to helm a major European luxury house, after Grace Wales Bonner’s arrival at Hermès menswear. Travis Scott was among the first to show love publicly. Her first day is November 16; the first collection is expected at Paris Fashion Week in March 2027.
