Pierpaolo Piccioli makes Balenciaga debut ‘from a place of love and connection’

The invitation for Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut show for Balenciaga was a Walkman and a cassette tape, which, when played, reverberated with the sound of a beating heart. Its pacing thud could perhaps be read as a sign of nervous anticipation – earlier in the week, Jonathan Anderson used an Adam Curtis short film to capture the weight of expectation these big-house debuts place on designers – though with Piccioli, the heartbeat spoke to something more elemental.

‘The heartbeat is the rhythm we share, the pulse that reminds us we are human,’ he wrote in a letter released just prior to the show, which took place yesterday evening. ‘For every heartbeat there is a name, a moment, a gesture. This collection comes from that place of love and connection. It is as much mine as it is of those who lived it with me-in every way. Perhaps with a different pulse, but always with the same soul.’

Pierpaolo Piccioli puts poetic stamp on codes of Balenciaga

At Valentino, where he was creative director from 2008 – first alongside Maria Grazia Chiuri, from 2008-2016, and then solo until his departure last year – his collections were defined by this heartfelt approach, where expressions of contemporary romance met a generosity of silhouette and a vivid use of colour, inspired by both the women around him and the work of house founder Valentino Garavani. This was perhaps most evident in his haute couture collections, which distilled his vision: one even took place on the Spanish Steps in Rome, a theatrical, kaleidoscopic display that saw gowns bloom with roses and feathers, or adorned with sequins. The names of the seamstresses who created each gown were stitched into the lining – a reminder of the intimacy of their craft.

It has made him one of fashion’s best-loved designers, a reputation further bolstered by his personal charm and affability. So as guests arrived at last night’s show, held in the cross-shaped lobby of Kering’s HQ on Paris’ Rue de Sèvres (the luxury conglomerate that owns the house), there was a palpable sense of anticipation, and plenty of goodwill. His supporters were out in force, including longtime muse Anne Hathaway and, in a surprise showing, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. The appearance marked her first fashion show since marrying Prince Harry, and a rare appearance on European soil.

Though despite the occasion, there were no signs of nerves here. Instead, the designer looked to the house’s archive with a laser focus, honing in on Cristóbal Balenciaga’s 1957 ‘Sack Dress’, a loose, trapeze-like cut that opposed the waist-defining shapes of the era. Reinterpreting this silhouette in his clean, contemporary style, Piccioli played with its proportions, shortening the shape into tunic tops worn with slim press-front trousers, or elongating into a gown (the original style falls just beneath the knee). ‘Not homage, but recalibration,’ read the collection notes. Everyday components of a woman’s wardrobe – from shirting to overcoats – were also reimagined through references to the house’s archive, twisted and transformed by a manipulation of volume, with cocooning and ballooning shapes appearing throughout.

Elsewhere, flourishes of embellishment provided a throughline to Piccioli’s previous work, from appliqué flowers to the feathered hem of a dress, as did a vivid use of colour. Meanwhile, tougher looks in black leather – like a series of T-shirts and capes slashed just below the chest – and shielding bug-eye sunglasses were a nod to his subversive predecessor, Demna (the handover between the pair has been amicable, with Piccioli attending Demna’s final show earlier this summer).

The show ended with a standing ovation for the deeply feeling designer, who once again led from the heart – the only way he knows how. ‘What brought me here has been a journey [of] emotions, pushing me forward with force-not only teaching me, but revealing parts of myself I hardly knew,’ he said. ‘[I] ‘embraced unpredictability, the endless days, and the act of working with the heart – letting it lead, learn, and act on its own.’

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