The Italian designer closed her Dior story with a Villa Albani show and left the house preparing for Jonathan Anderson’s expected debut on 27 June.
Maria Grazia Chiuri is stepping down as womenswear artistic director at Christian Dior, the house confirmed Thursday, closing a nine-year run that reshaped the label’s dialogue with modern women.
On Tuesday evening the designer presented what proved to be her last Dior collection, a moonlit display in Rome’s Villa Albani Torlonia, not far from where she grew up. Classical statues and softly lit porticos framed looks that underlined her guiding idea: clothes ready for life, not the archive.
Since arriving from Valentino in 2016, Chiuri broadened Dior’s wardrobe beyond the cocktail moment. The Book Tote, Bobby Camera Bag and refreshed Saddle Bag joined the Lady Dior in boutiques worldwide, widening the brand’s accessories appeal. Ready-to-wear followed the same path, offering knit polo dresses, fencing jackets and ski gear with equal confidence.
“I am particularly grateful for the work accomplished by my teams and the ateliers,” Chiuri said in a statement. “Their talent and expertise allowed me to realize my vision of committed women’s fashion, in close dialogue with several generations of female artists. Together, we have written an impactful chapter of which I am immensely proud.”
Delphine Arnault, Dior’s chief executive since 2023, saluted the designer’s “tremendous work with an inspiring feminist perspective and exceptional creativity” and praised her for bringing “remarkable growth” to LVMH’s second-largest fashion house.
Attention now turns to former Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson, widely expected to take the reins. Industry sources anticipate his debut for Dior on 27 June during Paris Fashion Week.
Chiuri has not outlined her next move. A devotee of theatre and dance, she is restoring the 233-seat Teatro della Cometa in Rome, purchased in 2020, and is said to be spending the coming months on that project.
Her departure leaves a wardrobe of ideas—grounded in contemporary life and voiced through a chorus of women artists—that will remain part of Dior’s fabric long after the Rome spotlight has dimmed.
