The creative director carousel: who went where, and what to watch now
In eighteen months almost every major house changed hands. Here is who landed where — and why next season is the one that tells you who got it right.
Fashion has just been through the biggest reshuffle of creative directors in decades. If you have lost the thread, here is the map to read the runways by.
Balenciaga: Pierpaolo Piccioli. Appointed in May 2025, he only took up the role in July, after Demna’s final couture show. The house shows couture once a year, every July, so Piccioli had nearly a full year to prepare his debut. He used it: the show was staged outdoors at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, with Demi Moore, Naomi Watts, Cynthia Erivo and Isabelle Huppert in the audience. Standouts included an iridescent black rooster feather headpiece made with Philip Treacy for Gigi Hadid, an interlocked bustier gown in grass green silk gazar, and an emu feather-embroidered trench. Afterwards the house wiped its Instagram and left three posts: headshots of the studio and atelier team, captioned “These are the people, the human beings who built this collection with me…”
“It’s a privilege working in couture, because you can experiment and innovate,” Piccioli said. “The way you achieve a couture collection is a journey you share with people, and it is the most important treasure you can have.”
There is economics behind it too. Morgan Stanley estimates Balenciaga’s 2025 sales at €1.47 billion, down from €1.65 billion a year earlier. Under Demna, revenue had more than quadrupled from €360 million in 2015. Kering says the house has returned to growth. “Pierpaolo Piccioli brings a renewed direction to the brand. We think it is going to help us to strengthen the identity without compromising its edge,” said Kering CFO Armelle Poulou.
Moschino: Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo, the founders of Sunnei, are the new co-creative directors after Adrian Appiolaza’s June exit. The pick makes sense: their last Sunnei show in September 2025 was not a show at all but a mock auction with bidding in “fashion dollars” — they announced their departure hours later. Their debut lands in September 2026 in Milan.
One caveat: Moschino belongs to Aeffe, a group under strain. In May the brand told shareholders it was insolvent, more than 200 group-wide layoffs came at the end of 2025, and on June 3 Riccardo Bagolin was named general manager, tasked with a turnaround alongside chief restructuring officer Stefano Falliti.
Rabanne: Olivier Rousteing replaces Julien Dossena after thirteen years. First show in March.
Down the list: Pieter Mulier left Alaïa for Versace, leaving Alaïa without a creative director — the studio designs the collection. Demna moved to Gucci, Maria Grazia Chiuri to Fendi, Meryll Rogge to Marni, Jonathan Anderson to Dior, Matthieu Blazy to Chanel. Sarah Burton debuted Givenchy menswear. Antonin Tron took Balmain. Drew Henry got Courrèges, Kai Nesselrath Carven, Ludivine Poiblanc A.P.C. Harris Reed left Nina Ricci, Marco De Vincenzo left Etro, Guillaume Henry left Patou.
The practical takeaway: nearly all the debuts are behind us, and the coming season is the season of second collections. A debut can coast on anticipation and goodwill. A second show cannot — that is where you see who actually found the language of the house and who simply made a good entrance.