Christian Dior announced today that Maria Grazia Chiuri has joined the fashion house as artistic director of women’s haute couture, read-to-wear and accessory collections.
Prior to joining Christian Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri had been the co-creative director of Valentino for 8 years. Her longtime design partner at Valentino, Pierpaolo Piccioli, will continue as Valentino’s creative director, albeit solo, according to a tweet from Valentino’s official Twitter account posted yesterday.
Chiuri joining Dior is exciting because this is the first time the fashion house has a female in this position for women’s collections. “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. 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. I am extremely grateful to Mr. Arnault and Mr. Toledano for the trust they have placed in me.” Maria Grazia Chiuri said in the release distributed today.
Bernard Arnault, the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH, said, “Maria Grazia Chiuri’s talent is 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.”
Sidney Toledano, President and CEO of Christian Dior Couture, welcomed Chiuri saying, “I am thrilled to welcome Maria Grazia Chiuri in the house of Christian Dior. Her vision of women, both sensual and poetic, resonates with that of Monsieur Dior. Her expertise in the art of couture and her passion for craftsmanship will be in perfect harmony with the exceptional know-how of our ateliers.”
Christian Dior has been without a creative leader since Raf Simons departed on October 22, 2015, resigning his position of Creative Director. Everyone in the fashion industry had since been speculating who would fill that role.
The fashion world will certainly be waiting for the next collection enthusiastically, to see what Maria Grazia Chiuri brings to the house of Dior after her long-time stint at Valentino! “Her vision for women, both sensual and poetic, elegant and refined, modern and respectful of the past, enters in resonance with that of Monsieur Dior,” a news-piece in DiorMag reads.
So let’s all watch out for her first ready-to-wear collection for Christian Dior which will be presented at Paris Fashion Week on September 30th 2016.
Read about Dior Fall/ Winter 2016-17 haute couture collection here:
Shilpa Ahuja the editor-in-chief of ShilpaAhuja.com, which she founded with the goal of inspiring confidence in the modern working woman through fashion. Other than defining the direction of the magazine, she also writes about fashion & beauty trend forecasts, industry analysis, and opinions.
Shilpa’s work has been published in the University of Fashion blog and Jet Airways magazine. She is also an artist, illustrator and cartoonist. She is also the creator of Audrey O., a comic series that represents the lifestyle of millennial women. She enjoys creative writing and world travel. Her art has been exhibited at Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Aroma Hotel, Chandigarh and been published in Chandigarh Times.
Originally from Chandigarh, Shilpa also has a degree in architecture and has worked in interior project management. She is also the author of the book “Designing a Chinese Cultural Center in India”. Shilpa has a Masters in Design Studies degree from Harvard University.
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