Pierpaolo Piccioli brought couture into the everyday for Balenciaga SS27

Subscribe WORDS Kirsty Thatcher PUBLISHED Fri, 2 Oct 2026 - 4:00 pm Paris Fashion Week has a way of making even the most familiar pieces feel new again. For Balenciaga’s summer 2027 collection, creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli didn't reinvent the clothing wheel, but instead demonstrated what happens when the techniques of couture are applied to the clothes we already know. Titled Les Coraux de la Liberté, the collection explored couture as both a methodology and an ideology. In other words, Piccioli positioned couture as a way of thinking – one that could reshape the everyday wardrobe. That meant familiar pieces were given a second look. Denim jeans, T-shirts, shirts, jackets and tailoring formed the foundation of the collection, but were transformed through cut, construction and techniques developed in the Balenciaga atelier. 1 / 4 One of the collection's key techniques was stitching, which Piccioli took from the internal structures of tailoring and applied to ready-to-wear to create new volumes. On leather and cotton, it produced basque-like shapes that nodded to Balenciaga's archival silhouettes, while appearing on decidedly everyday pieces including T-shirts and leather jackets. Bias cutting similarly changed the way familiar garments sat – the technique was applied not only to evening dresses, but to jeans and shirts, shifting their proportions and without losing their original essence. 1 / 4 The body remained central throughout, with Piccioli drawing on Cristóbal Balenciaga's longstanding philosophy of designing from the body outwards, but interpreting it through a softer lens. Calais lace and cutwork created openings onto the body, functioning as structural elements rather than simply decoration, while silhouettes were designed with movement, comfort and ease in mind. That sense of softness carried through to the accessories. Shoes were pliant and deliberately unstructured, including the flat Wave Thong Sandal, heeled Dahlia Mule and Lounge Sneaker. Bags such as the Nodo and Silhou Tote were supple and organic, shaped and draped by hand. The Bow Mask sunglasses featured artisan-braided arms, while Getaria jewellery took inspiration from the natural forms of seashells. 1 / 4 Then, at the centre of the show's scenography was Les Coraux de la Liberté (2025), a work by French artist Aude Franjou made from wrapped linen. The artwork lent the collection its title and echoed Piccioli's understanding of the couture house as something more than a physical space — an ecosystem of techniques, people and their ideas.