Memo #11: A Valentino surprise at Kering | Airbnb would like to be an everything app

Well, you can’t accuse Kering of ever being boring. Ex-Valentino designer Pierpaolo Piccioli has been appointed (Valentino is partially owned by Kering). He’s perhaps the polar opposite of Demna, who previously designed Balenciaga (and is now at Gucci) — soft, accessible, kind and gentle — while those who only knew Balenciaga under Demna might be surprised, the O.Gs know that Balenciaga has had at least two visionaries before that — Nicolas Ghesquière, who now designs the woman’s fashion line at Louis Vuitton, and of course monsieur himself — Cristóbal Balenciaga. The founder’s designs were avant-garde for the time but never oppressive or tried too hard — he understood draping, fabric and construction like few designers of his era.

To us it makes sense to see a designer who honed his sensibilities at Valentino move to Balenciaga — Demna revived the couture portion of the house, and in spite of the “street style” aesthetic many know Balenciaga the brand as, the house is stocked with many of the same madames who worked at couture houses like Chanel and Dior. A designer is only as good as the team around him — if executed properly, we suspect this will trigger another golden age at the house.