Dior to name Maria Grazia Chiuri as Creative Head

London - Now that Raf Simons has successfully closed his chapter at Dior following his debut show at Pitti Uomo, the luxury French fashion house appears to be ready to name his successor as creative director. Dior is said to have set its sights on Maria Grazia Chiuri, one of the creative directors at Valentino as its new creative head.

According to a report from Reuters, Christian Dior will formally announce her appointment as creative director following the fashion house's couture show in early July. "I understand that it will be announced after the (July) couture show," said a source to the newspaper. If appointed, Chiuri will be making fashion history as the first female creative director to serve Dior in its 70 year history.

She will have big shoes to fill at Dior, as Chiuri will be following in the footsteps of celebrated designers including Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano and Gianfranco Ferré. The designer will also face the challenging task of transforming the French fashion's brand direction and image in order to combat Dior's slipping sales, which have been declining over the 18 months.

Maria Grazia Chiuri to be named creative director at Dior

Although the French fashion house has linked its weak peformance to the global luxury market slowdown, Dior has also had to facing increasing competition from brands such as Balmain, Gucci and Louis Vuitton, which have become increasingly desirable over the past months, thanks to their creative directors vision's and ability to connect with consumers.

Dior was left without a creative head last October, when former creative leader Raf Simons exited quite suddenly. Chiuri has been credited for helping transform Valentino into one of the strongest and fastest growing luxury fashion companies in terms of sales growth, when she was appointed as joint creative director with her design partner Pierpaolo Piccioli in 2007. The design duo was handselected to take over the reins by Valentino himself in 2007, when he announced his impending retirement.

Chiuri and Piccioli are said to have been creative partners for over twenty years. Both studied at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome, before meeting via a mutual friend. When Chiuri began working as a designer for Fendi in 1989, she enlisted Piccioli to come and work with her in the accessories department where they remained until 1999, when they were approached by Valentino to join his label as accesory designers. Over the years the duo worked their way steadily up the ladder before being named co-creative directors.

Born in Rome, in 1965, the mother of two has been credited for helping transform Valentino into one of the luxury industry's most succesful fashion houses and strongest in terms of sales growth together with Piccioli. Thanks to their creative guidance, the fashion house has become known for its romantic, airy and elegant designs. The duo have been compared to have a similar effect on Valentino as Raf Simons had at Dior when he was first appointed, and Dior is likely to benefit from Chiuri light hand.

However, considering the two have worked side by side for over two decades the question remains if Piccioli will be following Chiuri in suit to Dior, or remain solo at Valentino. Christian Dior has yet to respond to the report.

Photo: Catwalkpictures.com