Image: Balenciaga’s store in SoHo, New York. Photo by ajay_suresh via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Kering has appointed British designer Martine Rose as creative director of Balenciaga. The group confirmed the appointment on Friday, November 6, 2026, one day after it announced the departure of Pierpaolo Piccioli, who had held the role for roughly 16 months.
Rose will take up the position on November 16, 2026, and will be based in Paris, according to Kering’s announcement as reported by The Business of Fashion and The Retail Bulletin. She is the first woman to lead the house creatively in its 109-year history, Marie Claire reported.
What Kering announced
In the statement released by Kering, Rose called the appointment “a true privilege.” She described Balenciaga as a house with an extraordinary heritage and a fearless creative spirit, and said she intends to honour that legacy while writing its next chapter.
Kering chief executive Luca de Meo said Rose brings a “fresh, fearless and deeply contemporary vision.” He pointed to her connection with a younger generation and her understanding of culture, and said the appointment reflects the group’s aim of keeping Balenciaga at the forefront of innovation and culture. Gianfranco Gianangeli, Balenciaga’s president and chief executive since November 2024, described Rose as an extraordinary creative talent with a bold and distinctive vision.
Rose’s first collection for Balenciaga is expected to be shown during Paris Fashion Week in March 2027, according to Marie Claire. Kering’s announcement did not state what will happen to Rose’s own label.
The appointment had been reported before it was confirmed. According to Reuters, US outlet Puck reported on Thursday that Rose would replace Piccioli; Kering did not comment at the time. Wallpaper* noted that the announcement followed weeks of speculation.
The Business of Fashion reported that Rose is the first creative director hired by de Meo since he took over at Kering. It also reported that she is only the second Black woman to take the creative helm at a major European fashion house, following Grace Wales Bonner’s appointment as menswear designer at Hermès in 2025.
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s exit
Balenciaga announced Piccioli’s departure on Thursday, November 5. The house did not give a reason for the exit or specify his final day, The Impression reported. Gianangeli thanked Piccioli in the statement, saying Balenciaga was deeply grateful for his contribution and that the designer had reaffirmed the house’s couture origins. De Meo called him an exceptional couturier.
Piccioli was named creative director in May 2025 and formally joined on July 10, 2025, after leaving Valentino in 2024. He succeeded Demna, who moved to Gucci. According to WWD, Piccioli designed four collections for Balenciaga during his tenure, including his haute couture debut in July 2026.
His first collection, for spring 2026, was shown in October 2025. W Magazine reported that it drew on the Balenciaga archive, including the house’s 1957 sack dress. W also reported that menswear sales, a source of growth under Demna, had declined since Piccioli’s appointment.
Who is Martine Rose?
Rose was born in Croydon, south London, in 1980 and is of British-Jamaican heritage. She studied at Middlesex University. Before founding her own label, she co-ran a line called LMNOP with stylist Tamara Rothstein, which closed in 2005.
She launched her namesake label in London in 2007 with a collection of ten shirts, presented at Blacks, a private members’ club in Soho. The brand later grew into a full menswear line known for exaggerated proportions and for references drawn from London subcultures, including rave, hip-hop and punk.
Rose received British Fashion Council NEWGEN sponsorship in 2012. In 2017 she was a semi-finalist for the LVMH Prize and received recognition from France’s ANDAM fashion award, and she was nominated for the British Fashion Council’s menswear designer award in consecutive years in the late 2010s. Her label has collaborated with Nike, including on reworked versions of the Air Monarch and the Shox, as well as with Napapijri, Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger, Caterpillar and Gucci Vault.
In October 2021, the distribution company Tomorrow London Ltd acquired a 60 percent stake in her label. In March 2026, Rose told WWD she had been forced to cancel production of her Fall/Winter 2026 collection; Tomorrow disputed that and said production would go ahead. The Business of Fashion later reported that Rose had made a bid to regain control of her label that was not accepted.
Her earlier history with Balenciaga
The appointment is a return for Rose. When Demna became Balenciaga’s creative director in 2015, he brought her in as a menswear consultant. She held that role from 2015 to 2018, helping launch the house’s first menswear collections under Demna and shape the oversized proportions associated with his tenure. Reuters reported that she spent three years at the house in that capacity.
Balenciaga: a brief history
The house was founded by Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga, who opened his first boutique in San Sebastián in 1917 and moved his couture house to Paris in 1937. He became known for redefining the silhouette, with designs such as the sack dress, the balloon skirt and the cocoon coat. He closed the house in 1968 and died in 1972.
The brand was revived in the late 1980s. Nicolas Ghesquière led it from 1997 to 2012, and it was acquired by the Gucci Group, now Kering, in 2001. Alexander Wang followed from 2012 to 2015, and Demna held the post from 2015 until he left for Gucci in 2025. Piccioli then held the role until November 2026.
A month of change at Kering
Piccioli’s exit was the third creative director departure at Kering in less than a month, according to WWD. On October 9, 2026, Kering announced that Anthony Vaccarello was leaving Saint Laurent after ten years. The following week, it confirmed that Seán McGirr was leaving Alexander McQueen after three years, FashionUnited reported. Successors at both houses had not been announced as of Rose’s appointment. The Business of Fashion also noted creative changes at Brioni.
Reuters described the changes as coming amid a three-year slowdown for the group. In its third-quarter results, published on October 22, 2026, Kering reported revenue of €3.345 billion, stable on a reported basis and down 1 percent on a comparable basis. Its Fashion & Leather Goods division, which includes Balenciaga, reported revenue of €2.743 billion, down 3 percent on a comparable basis, while Gucci’s revenue fell 6 percent on a comparable basis.
Kering does not publish separate revenue figures for Balenciaga. FashionNetwork reported that in the third quarter the brand was supported by its leather goods business while ready-to-wear was under pressure.
Rose begins at Balenciaga on November 16.
Sources: Kering statement of November 6, 2026, as reported by The Business of Fashion, Wallpaper*, Marie Claire, The Retail Bulletin and FashionNetwork; Reuters; WWD; W Magazine; The Impression; Numéro; Kering Q3 2026 results.
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