Nothing feels worse than being late to a Balenciaga show. And yet there I was, sprinting from the subway after realizing I’d taken the train in the wrong direction in an ill-fated attempt to outsmart Paris Fashion Week traffic.
I heard the venue before I saw it. A swell of screams rose up as I bolted toward the crowd gathered outside 22 Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris’ 8th arrondissement on Saturday night. It could only be for Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams, who slipped inside just before I checked in with the stressed-looking door girl. After a brief scuffle with two brusque security guards who were convinced I was a rabid fan trying to stalk Williams, said door girl cleared things up and finally waved me through.
Downstairs, the atmosphere was hot—like middle-of-the-night warehouse party hot. I didn’t think anything could top the temperature of the Dior SS26 show at the Jardin des Tuileries earlier in the week, but Balenciaga said: not so fast! As a New Yorker who’s spent the past six months shivering through winter, I loved it, immediately shrugging off my furry coat and relishing the sauna-like conditions, limbs bare and free.
Thanks to the Balenciaga team, I had a prime seat, directly across from Williams an his front row mates, I Love LA's Rachel Sennott, Jordan Firstman and Josh Hutcherson. A little further down, Coveteur girl and Euphoria cast member Chloe Cherry found her seat, while Winona Rider (!) chatted with her longtime partner Scott Mackinlay.
We were all gathered in this basement for one reason: to witness Pierpaolo Piccioli's second collection for Balenciaga. The crowd was buzzing in anticipation for what Piccioli would send down the runway after his standout first collection last season, which leaned more into Cristobal Balenciaga's more refined and classic house codes; with Meghan Markle in the front row, it was a stark departure from the streetwear-imbued vision his predecessor Demna left in his wake.
The show opened with a montage by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson: Anna Van Patten, eyes dusted in very Euphoria-coded rhinestone makeup (Donni Davy’s handiwork, I assume), gazing back at us from the screen while also sitting just a few seats away from me in the front row, beaming. With Hans Zimmer's Not Going To Art School as the opening track, a model with a c*nty bob slinked down the runway in a perfect funnel-necked leather bomber and matching pencil skirt with a sexy front slit. Immediately yes.
According to the show notes, Piccioli looked to the Renaissance technique of clair-obscur—a play between light and darkness used to define form and meaning. The tension unfolded throughout the collection: Demna-coded leather bombers colliding with Piccioli’s draped gowns; light-to-dark fades on the new Midnight City bag; ombré bleeding across D’Orsay sneakers. “Different generations walk together, in clothes created to symbiotically fuse them as a collective power yet celebrate them as individual forces—unity in being,” read the show notes.
And that’s exactly how it felt: a kind of generational handshake. The old and the new. Light and dark. Clothes that understood where the house has been, but also quietly, confidently pointed toward where it might go next.
Keep scrolling for my favorite moments from Balenciaga FW26.
1. The Leather Jackets
Balenciaga
Balenciaga
Slouchy leather jackets with statement collars never looked so good. Piccioli sent a number of versions down the runway, from cropped to funnel-necked, all deliciously buttery and luxe.
2. The Return Of Leggings
Balenciaga
Balenciaga
Perhaps the most surprising part of the show was when the second model marched down the runway in leggings. And not just any leggings; the early-oughts kind that crop right above the ankle, sleek and black, paired with teetering black stilettos. There were a few more instances of leggings on the runway, and in Piccioli's hands, paired with oversized leather jackets, they looked, dare I say, sexy? Nothing reminiscent of Lauren Conrad at Le Deux, circa 2007.
3. The Soundtrack
My ears perked up with Rosalía's Berghain started playing through the speakers; the last time I heard this track was at Joseph Altuzarra's FW26 show in New York, and it's nice to know that the designers are as obsessed with the album as much as I am. The rest of the soundtrack was a mix of dramatic, synth-y Hans Zimmer and Labrinth's Small Town Boy and Love Is Complicated.
4. The Glossy Leather Bags
It was easy to picture myself in the fall with one of these oversized leather bags slung in the crook of my shoulder. The undone clasps and slouchy shape felt effortless, yet still elevated; a more grown-up silhouette compared to the brand's cult-loved City bag.
5. The Slinky LGB
Balenciaga
Faith Xue
Piccioli knows that sexy does not have to mean overt, and he's a master of conveying sensuality with just a wink of skin. Though the sequined gowns that closed the show left an impression, I kept finding myself thinking back to this unassuming little green dress featuring some truly sumptuous draping.
