Gigi Hadid returns to haute couture after 4 years: engulfed in black feathers as Balenciaga hides 3D tech in its gown

Key takeaways

After four years away, Gigi Hadid finally returned to the haute couture runway, making one of Paris Haute Couture Week’s most unforgettable appearances. She walked in Balenciaga’s Fall/Winter 2026 haute couture collection with her head and upper body enveloped in black rooster feathers, leaving only her face as the focal point. From afar, it looked as though she had been swallowed by a flowing mass of black wings.

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Gigi Hadid returns to the haute couture runway after 4 years

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The last time Gigi Hadid walked a haute couture runway was for Off-White’s Spring/Summer 2022 couture collection. Four years later, she made a surprise appearance in Balenciaga’s 55th couture collection, immediately becoming the center of attention in a dramatic black feather look.

Created by Balenciaga in collaboration with milliner Philip Treacy, the look used hand-applied black rooster feathers to form an oversized hooded cocoon silhouette. The glossy feathers surrounded Gigi’s face and extended over her shoulders and upper body, while wide black pleated trousers completed the lower half.

As Gigi walked and the light shifted, the feathers took on different layers, blurring her familiar body proportions. Rather than emphasizing the waist or curves, the look transformed the wearer into a large, flowing black silhouette with the feel of a mysterious creature.

Pierpaolo Piccioli’s first Balenciaga couture show

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Gigi Hadid’s return drew attention in part because it came in Pierpaolo Piccioli’s first haute couture collection since taking the helm at Balenciaga. The show was held in the outdoor courtyard at Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, where green hedges and natural sunlight contrasted with the runway’s oversized volumes and vivid colors.

The collection returns to Cristóbal Balenciaga’s most recognizable design language: clothing need not cling to the body. Instead, internal structures, fabric, and precise cutting create architectural silhouettes that extend outward from it.

Along with the black feathers worn by Gigi, the collection featured bright pink balloon-shaped gowns, looks made with more than 24,000 hand-cut petals, and extensive use of feathers, silk tulle, cashmere, and new materials. Rather than directly copying the brand’s archives, Piccioli used his own flair for color and romance to reinterpret Balenciaga’s volume and structure.

3D body scans hidden beneath couture

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The show showcased traditional handwork while bringing 3D body scanning into the couture-making process. Balenciaga first scans the bodies and postures of real people in a naturally relaxed state, then uses that digital data to build the three-dimensional structures needed for the garments.

Some of the collection’s double-faced cashmere coats and gowns conceal thin leather supports shaped according to body-scan data. These invisible structures allow the garments to extend outward from the body while maintaining stable, precise, sculptural silhouettes.

Technology has not replaced couture artisans; instead, it has become a new tool that helps them understand the body and build a garment’s structure. From the black rooster feathers individually attached to Gigi Hadid to the digitally scanned structures concealed inside cashmere garments, the show lets technology provide precision while artisans’ hands preserve haute couture’s most difficult-to-replicate emotion and fantasy.

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