Pierpaolo Piccioli was born in 1967 in Nettuno, Italy. He studied at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome, took an accessories-design position at Fendi, and then at Valentino, which he joined with his long-time partner Maria Grazia Chiuri in 1999. They served as joint creative directors from 2008. In 2016, when Chiuri departed for Dior, Piccioli continued at Valentino as sole creative director.

The Solo Couture

Piccioli’s 2016–2024 Valentino was read, by most couture critics, as the strongest sustained couture practice of the period. Romantic, often single-coloured ball gowns with extraordinarily long trains; dramatic primary pinks, blood reds, medieval golds; and a deliberate democratisation of runway casting — Adut Akech, Anok Yai, and an increasingly non-European majority of his runway by 2019. His Fall 2020 collection, staged as a 48-hour live performance at Cinecittà, remains one of the most-discussed couture events since McQueen’s death.

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Beauty, now, is the most political argument a couture house can make. — Pierpaolo Piccioli

Pink PP, and Balenciaga

The Fall 2022 Valentino collection, staged entirely in saturated shocking pink developed with Pantone (Pink PP), produced the house’s highest-ever Instagram impression volume. In March 2024 Piccioli and Valentino parted without detailed explanation. In July 2025 Kering announced Piccioli as incoming creative director of Balenciaga, succeeding Demna. His debut is expected in March 2026.