Balenciaga just named Martine Rose its new creative director and she's the first woman to ever lead the house in its 109 years. Kering made it official today, November 6, and she takes over men's, women's and couture starting November 16 in Paris.
If you don't know the name you definitely know the influence. Rose started her own label in London back in 2007 and she built it off the stuff she came up around, London's underground rave scene, hip-hop, ska, punk, and her British Jamaican roots. She's done collabs with Nike, Clarks and Supreme. And she's not new to Balenciaga either, she was the menswear consultant there from 2015 to 2018 when Demna first came in, which is the era a lot of people point to when they talk about streetwear taking over luxury.
She's replacing Pierpaolo Piccioli, who Kering parted ways with after less than 18 months in the job. His exit was confirmed the day before this announcement. Marie Claire reports her first collection for the house is set for Paris Fashion Week in March 2027.
Why this one matters to us
For years the way our people actually dress, the rave fits, the football shirts, the stuff kids in London and Atlanta and New York were wearing way before it was on a runway, got picked up by luxury houses and sold back to us with somebody else's name on it. Martine Rose is one of the designers who actually came from that world and now she has the keys to one of the biggest houses in fashion. Business of Fashion also pointed out she's only the second Black woman to lead creative at a major European luxury house, after Grace Wales Bonner. That's a big deal and I'm not going to pretend it isn't.
Fashion and gaming already overlap more than people think, I put together a list of the most stylish gamers in esports if you need proof, and we've talked before about where culture and gaming meet.
What we don't know yet
What happens to her own label. Nobody has said if Martine Rose the brand keeps going, and earlier this year Dazed reported she had to cancel production on her AW26 collection over unresolved issues with the label's shareholder. So that's the part I'm watching next.
Her first show is a few months out. What do you want to see her do with Balenciaga? Come tell me in the CXM Discord.
Your call
Did I get this ranking right?
In this story
.png)
