The Tamesis
And…points! Earlier tonight, Pierpaolo Piccioli launched his second women’s ready-to-wear collection at Balenciaga. Titled “ClairObscur,” it strives to illuminate the form of the figure through the exploration of shadows, inspired in part by Caravaggio’s dramatic darkism. To incorporate some contemporary drama into his “human mural,” Piccioli worked with showrunner Sam Levinson, creator and writer of “Euphoria,” to design his show.
The two friends have been working on this Balenciaga project for several months. Meanwhile, Levinson has been preparing for the release of the third season of his magnum opus, which will return on HBO on April 12 and is set five years after the previous season. We’ve already seen a trailer for the series, which stars the likes of Zendaya, Sidney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer, and Colman Domingo as characters who return to Levinson’s world and encounter “a series of troubles.”
Shortly before the show, Piccioli and Levinson got on the phone to talk us through how the filmmaker is directing the environment for the couturier’s own story for the new season. They also discussed how the story “blends” emotion by introducing some sounds and images from Euphoria into Balenciaga’s world. The lightly edited script below tells the story.
Every story starts somewhere. Where does yours start?
Sam Levinson: Pierpaolo has been a part of my life before we even met. My wife wore one of his designs when we were married, so some of the most memorable moments of my life were in his presence. Then we officially met on Euphoria Season 2 when he came to visit us on set. We hit it off immediately. Pierpaolo is such an easy-going, enthusiastic and curious person. We started talking about movies, photography, art, life and people…all the good things.
Pierpaolo Piccioli: I have to say, it’s a very natural connection. I was kind of addicted to the euphoria and everything Sam had done and was doing. In fact, this [collaboration] There is no plan. That’s what happened, naturally.
What story are you telling through this collaboration?
PPP: With this series, I wanted to take a picture of this generation. I feel like what Sam does in all his shows, especially Euphoria , is he has a very unique angle on finding the light in the darkness, a special perspective that is human and very emotional. This is not about judging, criticizing or celebrating; It’s about the characters and their parts of humanity. This is the perspective I want to take my photos from. It’s like a human mural. I wanted to do with fashion what Sam did with film. I think what matters is the human perspective on this moment. We’ve been talking about finding the light in the darkness, trying to be resilient, persevering and seizing new opportunities.
