Martine Rose is finally getting her flowers. The London-based designer, celebrated globally for her beloved eponymous menswear label, has been named the new creative director of Balenciaga, the company announced on Friday.
Rose has long been tipped by industry insiders to take the helm at the storied French maison. Her deep ties to the brand run back to the mid-2010s, having helped shape the defining Demna era of Balenciaga as a menswear consultant from 2015 to 2018. During that crucial window, she worked alongside the brand just as it conceived its signature oversized clothes that would go on to redefine modern luxury. Now, she is returning with total creative control over the entire house, succeeding outgoing creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, who departed on Thursday after completing just three seasons in the role. Based in Paris, Rose will officially take up her new position effective November 16. With this appointment, Rose makes history as the first female creative director at Balenciaga in its 109-year history.
“Balenciaga has always been a house of radical creativity, challenging conventions and redefining the boundaries of fashion. Martine Rose embodies this spirit with a fresh, fearless and deeply contemporary vision,” Kering CEO Luca de Meo said in a formal statement. “Her connection to the new generation and her instinctive understanding of culture bring a new dimension to the house. Her appointment reflects our ambition to keep Balenciaga at the forefront of innovation, creativity and culture.”
Balenciaga president and CEO Gianfranco Gianangeli echoed those sentiments, praising the designer’s unique background. “Martine Rose is an extraordinary creative talent with a bold and highly distinctive vision,” Gianangeli said. “Her ability to challenge conventions, reinvent silhouettes and bring an unexpected perspective to fashion resonates deeply with the spirit of innovation that defines Balenciaga. We are delighted to welcome her as creative director and look forward to this exciting new chapter for the house.”
Rose carries an immense amount of goodwill and respect across the fashion industry. Ever since rumors began swirling on social media regarding her potential appointment, scores of fashion editors, stylists, influencers, and major celebrities rejoiced online. Her offbeat menswear has drawn deep inspiration from British subcultures—ranging from football casuals and rave kids to skinheads and reggae heads—winning the designer a fiercely loyal fan base since she first launched her eponymous label in 2007.
Among her most vocal supporters is superstar Kendrick Lamar, who publicly championed Rose after she crafted custom looks for his Big Steppers tour in 2022. “Bucket list to work with Martine Rose…” he posted to his millions of Instagram followers at the time, sharing a photo of Rose flashing a peace sign into the camera. Lamar continued their creative partnership by wearing a custom Martine Rose jacket during his prominent Super Bowl performance in 2025. Other high-profile celebrity fans include cultural icons like Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, and Timothée Chalamet, all of whom have been frequently spotted wearing her oversized, sports-infused aesthetic in recent years.
The Balenciaga appointment has arrived at a pivotal time for the designer. Rose has faced notable challenges at her eponymous label in recent years following the sale of a 60% stake in the business to fashion incubator Tomorrow Ltd in 2023. Tensions eventually arose between Rose and Tomorrow Ltd concerning the operational handling and strategic direction of her brand. These difficulties became public knowledge when Rose announced that she would not be producing her Fall/Winter 2026 collection in March. Tomorrow subsequently released a counter-statement, and ultimately, as the majority shareholders of the brand, they proceeded to produce the collection despite Rose’s public announcement.
Shortly after that friction, in March of this year, Tomorrow sold Rose’s brand to the Italian company The Level Group. This corporate transition coincided with a turbulent period for independent labels under the same umbrella; Paris label Coperni was also acquired by The Level Group, prompting its founders to announce this week that they would shutter the brand entirely following a relationship breakdown with the distributor. Amid these business complexities, Rose has not staged a traditional fashion show since her Spring/Summer 2026 presentation last June.
The broader fashion community has rallied around her transition. Another prominent designer within the Tomorrow and The Level Group stable, Charles Jeffrey, took to social media on October 26 to express his unbridled enthusiasm when initial rumors of the Martine-Balenciaga partnership began to surface. “She would be so incredible in the role because she speaks to a community that doesn’t see themselves in the [luxury] space,” Jeffrey said in a video, “and she does it with such warmth.”
The partnership aligns closely with Kering’s overarching corporate strategy. In his ReconKering turnaround plan, Kering CEO Luca de Meo made it clear that he views Balenciaga as a core house for Gen Z consumers. “Balenciaga is one of the brands that better understands the vibes of the new generation,” de Meo said during the luxury group’s Capital Markets Day in April. Rose possesses a proven track record of capturing those exact cultural currents. From her signature entry-level T-shirts—which have been spotted frequently in the offices of fashion publications like Vogue and GQ—to her highly successful, longstanding collaborations with Nike, including
the popular Shox MR4 mules, Rose inherently knows how to engineer a must-have item that resonates with younger demographics. As the wider luxury industry grapples with a steady decline in the aspirational shopper, her distinct high-low approach could provide a vital boost to Balenciaga as the brand attempts to recapture its young, fiercely loyal Demna-era fans.
Balenciaga’s menswear business represented a massive commercial and cultural opportunity under Demna, meaning Rose—who is primarily renowned for her visionary menswear design—is exceptionally well-positioned to continue that upward trajectory. At the same time, de Meo has outlined ambitious plans to double Balenciaga’s women’s ready-to-wear business by the year 2030. This expansion will present a new operational task for Rose as she adjusts to the complex development capabilities of a major global luxury house, especially given that she lacks the traditional high-fashion couture background of predecessors like Piccioli.
Even so, a dedicated female clientele has long embraced her men’s silhouettes, and Rose has actively scaled up her womenswear output in recent years, producing fully co-ed collections since 2023. Accessories will remain another critical area of focus for the brand’s future. De Meo noted that leather goods continue to serve as Balenciaga’s most powerful growth engine, spearheaded by successful lines like the Rodeo and City bags, with a corporate goal to further accelerate the leather goods category heading toward 2030.
“It is a true privilege to be appointed creative director of Balenciaga, a house with an extraordinary heritage and a fearless creative spirit,” Rose said following the announcement. “Balenciaga has been shaped by remarkable creative talents before me. I am committed to honoring this legacy and look forward to creating the next chapter in this rich and beautiful story.”
Rose’s historic appointment forms part of a wider leadership shake-up across Kering’s luxury portfolio. This period of transition has also included high-profile departures such as Anthony Vaccarello exiting Yves Saint Laurent and Seán McGirr stepping down from Alexander McQueen. While their respective successors have yet to be officially announced, industry speculation suggests that several frontrunners for both roles are women. Should those rumors materialize, Kering could conclude the year as a major luxury conglomerate with a majority-female roster of creative directors steering its flagship houses.
