PARIS — Pierpaolo Piccioli presented his first couture collection for Balenciaga in Paris. The designer worked on the show for nine months, drawing on his 25 years of experience at Valentino.

The collection was shown at the Cité Universitaire de Paris during a heatwave. Images displayed in the preview room included a 1961 Balenciaga dress, Spanish golden age art by Zurbarán and Velázquez, and a sculpture by Barbara Hepworth. Piccioli stated that "Haute couture is a world with no maps." He added that "There are no limits on your imagination." The collection featured colors such as ultraviolet, aniseed, and lavender.

Featured designs included a bustier dress made of embroidered silk gazar and a headpiece of ostrich feathers shaped like a motorcycle helmet. Another look consisted of a vertical stack of three fuchsia puffballs with a bolero jacket, bodice, and skirt. Trousers in the collection were either feathered, embroidered, or designed with a ballgown-scale train. Piccioli also stated, "I didn't want it to be too distant from reality," explaining his design approach further: "You don't want to know too much about the technique, it needs to be hidden so that all you see is the magic of a woman in a dress."

To create made-to-measure garments, Balenciaga clients will undergo 3D body scans. Cristóbal Balenciaga, the brand's founder, closed his fashion house and retired to Spain in 1968.

Why It Matters

This collection marks Pierpaolo Piccioli's debut in Balenciaga couture, signaling a new design direction for the house. The use of 3D scanning technology for client fittings indicates an integration of modern techniques within traditional couture practices. Cristóbal Balenciaga retired in 1968.