Part of today’s What You Missed: Saturday, Oct 24, 2026.
Status: REPORTED, NOT CONFIRMED. Kering and Balenciaga have not announced this. Read everything below with that in mind.
The hook
For years, part of the fashion internet has said the same thing: Martine Rose should run Balenciaga. This week, the most connected reporter in the business said it’s actually happening. If it’s true, the brand behind the oversized hoodies, chunky sneakers, and Paris-meets-rave look you see in every LA club line would be handed to one of the people who helped invent that look.
What happened
- Piccioli is out (reported): On Oct. 22, Puck’s Lauren Sherman reported that Balenciaga employees had been told creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli was leaving “after less than two years.” Kering had announced his appointment on May 19, 2025, effective July 10, 2025.
- Rose has signed (reported): In her Line Sheet newsletter, Sherman wrote: “This week, I’m told, Rose signed the deal to replace outgoing designer Pierpaolo Piccioli.” She noted that “a rep for Kering declined to comment” and that Rose “did not respond to a request for comment.” She also wrote that a formal announcement isn’t expected for weeks.
- The amplification: Ebony ran the story on Oct. 23, citing Puck. That’s amplification, not a second independent confirmation, which is why our label stays at “reported.”
Background from Puck’s report:
– Rose advised on Balenciaga menswear under Demna for three years.
– Her own label’s backer, the incubator Tomorrow, had acquired 60% of the brand. Puck says Tomorrow later “imploded” and was “purchased out of distress” earlier this year.
– Kering CEO Luca de Meo wants Balenciaga to be “Gen Z’s entry point.”
– Kering shares fell nearly 18% after its latest earnings.
Rose founded her label in 2007, according to Ebony, and has collaborated with Nike and Supreme. Her Supreme collaboration for Fall/Winter 2026 dropped Oct. 15 in the UK, EU and US.
Why people care, and what creators are saying
This is one of the rare fashion rumors where the audience had already picked a winner:
– The long-running wish: In 2024, Culted reported that Fashion Roadman posted “Please, Martine Rose at Balenciaga” on Threads. His YouTube explainer, How Martine Rose Influenced Balenciaga & Demna Gvasalia, is four years old and has about 33,000 views. It’s background, but it shows how long this idea has been building.
– Reaction on X since Puck’s report. These are small accounts, but the tone is consistent:
– @_Trend_Setta: “Martine Rose At Balenciaga? Now That Makes Sense.”
– @whoisaro: “Martine rose at balenciaga means I’ll wear it now.”
– @eripurry: “Martine Rose at Balenciaga is a timeline jump.”
– The wardrobe app Whering framed it more carefully: “Streets are saying Martine Rose might be returning to @balenciaga.”
– The Supreme drop as a lead-in. Her Supreme collaboration is the creator conversation right now. Recent YouTube coverage includes SupThomas’ Supreme x Martine Rose: The Mike Tyson Collab! and 8oone’s Is Supreme Martine Rose Good or Terrible? (Best Resell Week 9), which had about 14,000 views when we checked.
We found no major creator video yet that’s specifically about the Balenciaga report.
What it means for you
- Don’t buy on the rumor.
- Balenciaga pieces from the current season won’t change in value because of a report.
- If you’re eyeing archive Demna-era menswear on resale, prices may get chatter-driven bumps. Wait for the official announcement before paying a premium.
- Martine Rose’s own work is the speculation play. Her Supreme pieces and her own-label items are what people will reach for if the news is confirmed. That’s our inference, not a market fact. If you already own them, there’s no reason to sell yet. If you’re buying, buy what you’ll actually wear.
- Styling read for LA nights:
- Rose’s language is tailoring with a twist: big shoulders, tucked football shirts, sharp shirting worn loose.
- It works for LA because it’s dressy without being hot.
- Try a boxy blazer over a vintage sports jersey with straight trousers. You don’t need any logo to get the look.
- Career signal: De Meo has put women designers in key Kering roles. Puck lists Virginia Burlina at McQueen, and Chemena Kamali is widely expected at Saint Laurent but not confirmed. For designers coming up through menswear and streetwear, that’s a real shift in who gets hired.
Our take (opinion)
From first principles: Balenciaga’s commercial peak came from making luxury feel like a subculture. Hoodies, sneakers, irony. Piccioli is a brilliant couturier, but couture elegance was never what Balenciaga’s newer customers came for. Rose is one of the people who built that subculture vocabulary, so the logic is strong.
The open questions are the hard ones:
1. Can a menswear-led designer run a house where womenswear and accessories pay the bills?
2. Can Kering give her time after cycling through designers quickly?
Our test: if the first collection under Rose sells out in sneakers and outerwear but not in bags, the hire worked creatively and failed commercially. We’ll update this post when Kering confirms or denies.
Sources
- Puck, Lauren Sherman, Oct. 22, 2026: Pierpaolo Piccioli Is Out at Balenciaga. Who’s Next?
- Puck, Line Sheet: Balenciaga’s Next Designer & More Paris Loot
- Ebony, Oct. 23, 2026: Martine Rose is Balenciaga’s new creative director (citing Puck)
- Kering, May 19, 2025: Pierpaolo Piccioli appointed Creative Director of Balenciaga
- Culted: The culture wants Martine Rose at Balenciaga
- YouTube: Fashion Roadman, SupThomas, 8oone
- Back to today’s roundup: What You Missed: Saturday, Oct 24, 2026
Photo: A Balenciaga boutique at Wynn Palace, Macau, by Bita RmJohnson Liuosa, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
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