And…roll credits! Earlier tonight, Pierpaolo Piccioli presented his second women’s ready-to-wear collection for Balenciaga. Titled ClairObscur, it was dedicated to illuminating forms of character through the exploration of shadows, in part inspired by the dramatic tenebrism of Caravaggio. To import some contemporary dramatics into his “fresco of humanity,” Piccioli framed his show in partnership with Sam Levinson, the creator of the TV series Euphoria.
The two friends have been working on this Balenciaga project for several months. Simultaneously, Levinson has been gearing up for the release of the third season of his magnum opus, which returns to HBO on April 12 and is set five years after the last season ended. We’ve already seen a trailer for the series, which sees the characters played by stars including Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer, and Colman Domingo return to Levinson’s world and a “cascade of trouble.”
Shortly before the show, Piccioli and Levinson jumped on a call to cast some light on how the filmmaker came to direct the environment for the fashion-maker’s own new-season story. They also discuss how that story involved “merging” the sensibilities by introducing some sounds and imagery drawn from Euphoria into the world of Balenciaga. The script below, lightly edited, tells that tale.
Every story starts somewhere. Where did yours begin?
Sam Levinson: Pierpaolo has been part of my life since before we even met. My wife, when we got married, wore a dress designed by him, so he was there in the most memorable moment of my life. Then we met officially during season two of Euphoria when he came to visit us on set. We just hit it off immediately. Pierpaolo is this kind of easy, warm, curious person. We started talking about cinema, photography, art, life, and human beings…all the good stuff.
Pierpaolo Piccioli: It was that very natural connection, I have to say. I was kind of obsessed with Euphoria and with everything Sam had done and was doing. And actually, this [collaboration] was not planned. It was just what happened and naturally came.
And what story are you telling through the collaboration?
Piccioli: With this collection, I wanted to take a picture of this generation. And I feel that what Sam does with all his shows, Euphoria in particular, is that he has a very singular angle about finding the light in darkness, with a particular perspective that is human and very emotional. And that is not judging or criticizing or celebrating; it is about the humanity of the characters and their parts. And that is the perspective I want to take my own picture from. It’s like a fresco of humanity. What I want to do with fashion is what Sam does with cinema; it’s a human take on this moment that I think is important. We have been talking about finding the light in darkness, trying to be resilient and to persevere and to take new opportunities.
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