Key Takeaways
- Pierpaolo Piccioli staged "Les Coraux de la Liberte," Balenciaga's Summer 27 ready-to-wear show, in Paris on Thursday (Oct. 1).
- The collection took a branch of red Mediterranean coral, Corallium rubrum, as inspiration for alternating sheer and firm fabrics and shifting silhouettes.
- Neo Gazar, the stiff silk Piccioli revived in July, reappeared as both outer fabric and internal structure.
- Summer 27 marks Piccioli's third Balenciaga ready-to-wear show since his October 2025 debut.
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s third Balenciaga collection takes inspiration from something that grows only a few millimeters a year.
The house staged "Les Coraux de la Liberté," its Summer 27 ready-to-wear collection, in Paris on Thursday (Oct. 1).
The title translates to "The Corals of Liberty," referring to a species of red Mediterranean coral, Corallium rubrum, that adds only a few millimeters of growth each year and never produces two identical branches. The organic, unpredictable growth inspired Piccioli, according to Lampoon Magazine.
On the runway, models wore both sheer and firmer fabrics in silhouettes that shifted depending on how their body moved. Gazar, the stiff silk Piccioli revived in July under the name Neo Gazar, returned in the semi-fitted suit, the tunic, the sack dress, the cocoon coat, the balloon skirt.
Piccioli grew up in Nettuno, a coastal town south of Rome, and spent 25 years at Valentino before joining Balenciaga in 2025. Summer 27 is his third ready-to-wear show for the house, after his October 2025 debut and the March 2026 autumn-winter collection.
Paris Fashion Week's women's calendar runs Sept. 28 through Oct. 6 with 68 shows and 34 presentations. The trade press has framed the season around designers reaching their third outing at major houses, including Piccioli alongside Jonathan Anderson at Dior, Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, and Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez at Loewe.
