Balenciaga. Pre-Fall 2026 - Lookbook

(Images:  Balenciaga 2026)

Pierpaolo Piccioli first lookbook collection, after his debut showing for Balenciaga, which was by all definction, quite flat and uninspiring.  Yet, excusable after Demna Gvasalia's heavy imprint on Balenciaga after 10 years, so an overnight turnaround for Piccioli would be no easy feat.  So, for Piccioli to dig around into Balenciaga's past, prior to Demna, as a retrospection for inspiration, may not come up with much.

So, it's ok to look at Demna's heavy weighted legacy of shifting Balenciaga, within his ten year tenure, to his early 1990s East European homage of DIY 'rave'/streetwear fashion and postmodern backlash styles for the iconic fashion brand (in name only), which Piccioli has indeed done for his Pre-Fall 2026 collection, whilst sleeking it up, and adding a punk rock ala mid 1970s angle to the looks.  And yes, it does work well.

And by testing the market, to see if they are ready for the Italian designer's sleeker, more polished delinations, over Demna's deconstruction, and 'destroyed' worn styles, holds a risky appeal without trying to plagiarize it and Piccioli is determined to hold that line, saying that the collection represents function, rather than "decorative" looks.  Offering his modernist take on Balenciaga, over postmodern.  Will you miss Demna's hyperbole aesthetics, and backlash stylizations?  However, I do see worn-esque looks, and antithesis statements for Piccioli's latest array.

Piccioli's sleek sportswear, with its refined punk looks, very much flows from the 2018 leggings trend and 'tech' looks that graced the runway six years ago, which petered out, as much as the utility wear, outdoor/adventure styles did at the same time.  Before the pandemic hit in 2019, and proto-Fascism emerged thereafter, and Far Right ideology gained momentum, be it that push and pull between modernism and postmodern styles, with avant-garde being sidelined almost completely.  Fashion could be indeed in a flux or confusion, of setting a precedence of identity and rebellion, in this tumultuous period in human history.  

So, a dose of backlash, is probably needed for Balenciaga.  But, the question remains; Is Piccioli up for the challenge?

___

(A.Glass 2026)