Story by Editor-at-Large CAROLINA OGLIARO
Paris witnessed a turning point this season. Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut at Balenciaga rewrote the narrative with poetic code. His vision unfolded like a sartorial aria… solemn, romantic and deliberately paced.
The collection balanced the house’s architectural backbone with his unmistakable sense of human emotion: structure met softness, rebellion met grace.
Tailoring emerged as sculptural armour, cut with severity yet softened by whispering fabrics that traced the body rather than confined it. Monochromes ruled the runway, allowing the purity of line and silhouette to speak louder than embellishment. There was a sense of ceremony, almost devotional, in the way models glided, veiled in elongated capes, monastic hoods and fluid gowns that felt both modern and eternal.
Cristóbal Balenciaga’s iconic sac dress, introduced in 1957, shattered the hourglass ideal with its radical, free-falling silhouette, a masterstroke of volume that redefined modern elegance.
Piccioli carved out a new emotional topography for Balenciaga, one where grandeur is breathed. This was a collection about reverence: for craft, for heritage, for fashion as a transformative act. In my personal view, it was the strongest ( and best ) debut among all the maisons unveiling their new creative directors and chapters.
Continuing on—
Courrèges SS26 moved like the sun itself, rising quietly and then burning bright.
Nicolas Di Felice staged the show on a circular runway, tracing a solar journey from cool dawn to blazing zenith. Early looks came in frosted blues and sheer layers, crisp and controlled, like the first light of day. As the temperature climbed, silhouettes softened, swimsuits slipped under dresses, and outerwear melted into fluid shapes. By the finale, the heat was palpable: metallics, vinyl and mirrored surfaces caught the light like solar armour.
This season’s Courrèges woman doesn’t shy from the sun, but she faces it head-on. Cut-outs and sharp lines balance sensuality with structure, while accessories echo protection: hoods as shields, seamless boots that extend like a second skin. There’s an urgency beneath the sleekness, a sense of dressing for a world where light is both beautiful and unforgiving. Di Felice distills that tension into something precise and radiant: minimalism with heat, elegance built for impact.
