Confirmed: Maria Grazia Chiuri will lead Dior
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In what has been the most anticipated round of designer musical chairs to date, Dior has confirmed that Maria Grazia Chiuri, who was recently confirmed to have left Valentino, will be the next couturier for the house. Details of the contract were not disclosed, but it is said to be a long-term partnership.
Chiuri will start next week as Dior's artistic director of women's haute couture, ready-to-wear, and accessories collections. Her first collection will bow on September 30 for the spring 2017 ready-to-wear season at Paris Fashion Week. Her first couture show will be staged next January, and will coincide with the luxury brand's 70th anniversary.
“It is a great honor to be joining the house of Dior; I measure the tremendous responsibility of being the first woman in charge of the creation in a house so deeply rooted in the pure expression of femininity,” Chiuri said in a statement. “The endless wealth of its heritage continues to be a constant source of inspiration for fashion, and I cannot wait to express my own vision.”
Maria Grazia Chiuri, former co-creative director of Valentino, will be the new couturier at Christian Dior
Bernard Arnault, chairman of Dior, called Chiuri’s talent “enormous and internationally acclaimed. She will bring her elegant and modern vision of the Dior woman, seamlessly attuned to the heritage and the codes defined by Monsieur Dior.”
Prior to arriving at Dior, Chiuri had spent 17 years at Valentino with her creative partner Pierpaolo Piccioli. Eight of those years were spent as co-creative directors. Before Valentino, they spent 10 years together at Fendi, where they met, and created one of the It bags of the 90s, the Fendi Baguette.
Piccioli affirmed his commitment to Valentino in a statement saying "Valentino and the people with whom I work with are a great part of my life. My decision of bringing forward the creative guide of this maison is driven by the strong passion that triggers my work and by the desire of continuing to express here my stylistic vision."
Chiuri will have her work cut out for her at Dior given the current state of the luxury goods market. While she is no doubt a brilliant designer, and helped boost Valentino's sales figures, between Brexit, Asia's economic woes, and terror fears impeding tourism, the luxury goods sector is taking a real hit this year.
Revenues at Christian Dior declined 1 percent in the third quarter. The house did close out 2015 with revenues of 2.08 billion dollars, reflecting a gain of 17 percent at annual exchange rates and 7 percent at constant rates.
Still, Chiuri is known for helping a brand see impressive sales figures. Last year, Valentino posted revenues of over 1 billion dollars and a 48 percent increase in sales.
Chiuri joins a legacy that only few people post the namesake founder have got to have. Others who have taken up the role of Dior's couturier include Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferre, John Galliano, Raf Simons, who exited the company last October. Simons no doubt left his mark on the company, but his work began to struggle as he proved to have difficult tackling six collection a year, and Dior's sales began to fall.
Simons is expected to become creative director of Calvin Klein.
Dior's most recent collection was done by studio directors Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier. Their ready-to-wear has seen double digit sales increases for the brand and clients praised their most recent haute couture collection.
After seasons of minimalism under Simons, Dior can expect something completely new under Chiuri. Her work for Valentino brought feminine dresses with Renaissance flare, and high-neck gowns. It's a new chapter in Dior's history, and we are all awaiting the first page.
photo via Dior website