Kering names Martine Rose creative director of Balenciaga
Kering has named Martine Rose (マーティン・ローズ) creative director of Balenciaga from November 16, succeeding Pierpaolo Piccioli -- whose departure, reported only by the trade press, Kering's own Japan statement does not mention -- and whatever she designs will eventually hang in the maison's boutiques inside Kering's roughly 170-store Japan network.
Kering Japan K.K. said in a release carried by PR TIMES on November 6 that Martine Rose (マーティン・ローズ) will become creative director of Balenciaga (バレンシアガ), effective November 16, 2026. The announcement came from Kering and Balenciaga and carries no mention of predecessor Pierpaolo Piccioli or how his tenure ended.
Rose is a London-based designer who founded her own eponymous label in 2007, building a body of work the release describes as rooted in subculture, music and the social codes around identity and dress, and known for challenging convention around fashion and masculinity. She has also worked widely as a creative collaborator and consultant with other brands and artists, drawing on London's art, community and subculture scenes, according to the companies.
In the statement, Kering chief executive Luca de Meo said Balenciaga has always embodied a radical creativity that challenges convention and pushes at what fashion can be, and that Rose's ability to resonate with a new generation reflects the group's own push toward innovation. Balenciaga president and chief executive Gianfranco Gianangeli said Rose's bold, original vision resonates deeply with the house's own spirit of innovation and that he looks forward to the chapter she opens.
A departure the companies have not addressed
What Kering and Balenciaga's own release does not cover is why Piccioli is leaving. Trade press, including Fashionsnap, reported that his exit was announced separately in Paris on November 5, after around 16 months in the role: he had joined in July 2025, succeeding Demna, who moved on to Gucci, and showed only two collections before his departure. Neither Kering nor Balenciaga has issued its own statement on the departure itself, as distinct from Rose's appointment -- so floortok is reporting that half of the story as trade-press coverage, not as the companies' own words.
What it means for Balenciaga's Japan floors
Balenciaga is one of the fashion houses -- alongside Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and McQueen -- inside the roughly 172 directly operated stores Kering's fashion division ran in Japan at the end of the first half of 2026, Kering said in its half-year results; Gucci alone held 61 of those, unchanged on the previous half. Whichever of those floors carry Balenciaga will eventually sell Rose's vision rather than Piccioli's, though neither release sets a date for when her first collection reaches a Japanese store -- that, and whether Kering says anything more about the handover, are what to watch next.