Maria Grazia Chiuri: First Female Creative Director at DIOR
1. Maria Grazia Chiuri
Dior Haute Couture SS17
“With Creativity You Can Propose A New Future”
“You have to express yourself, but you also have to have a sense of
community.”
2. (I) “I am part of the generation that wears black”
(II) Arguably the world’s first modern It-bag, the Fendi
Baguette
The Journey So Far…
Rockstud: The blockbuster style that put Valentino
back to the forefront of fashion
(III)
(IV) We Should All be Feminists: "Dior Has To Be About
Female Empowerment"
3. 1964
1982
1989
1999
2015
Born in Rome, Italy
Joined IED,
Rome
Joined
Fendi
and met
Pier
Paolo
Piccioli
Joined
Valentino,
and
become
co-
creative
director
First female
to lead DIOR
4. MARIA
GRAZIA
CHIURI
Chiuri was born in 1964
in Rome.
Her Father was in the
Military and her mother
was a dressmaker.
Chiuri cites her five
sisters and mother as her
inspirations.
Chiuri studied at IED, Istituto Europeo di
Design in Rome.
Maria Grazia's feminism is
authentic, and she wants her work
in fashion to reflect something
greater than itself.
She received the Sisterhood Is
Powerful Award for Wearable
Media from the Women’s Media
Center in New York City.
Maria Grazia Chiuri is the first woman to lead the iconic
fashion house, Dior.
5. Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli both studied fashion design at the
Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome.
After graduation Chiuri secured a job at Fendi where she met Pier
Paolo Piccioli. Together Chiuri and Piccioli formed a strong creative
relationship whilst working on Fendi’s accessories.
The duo opposed the minimalist trend of the 90s and focused on
sophistication and style.
Played vital roles in creating some of Fendi’s most celebrated bags
including the Fendi Baguette.
6. In 1999 Valentino
Garavani personally approached
pair and asked them to create a
collection of accessories that
would embrace the style of
the Valentino house.
When Chiuri and Piccioli debuted a series of kitten-
heeled, stud-emblazoned stiletto pumps on the runway
in 2010, the comfortable height and edgy grommets
instantly took off.
By 2014, it seemed like every blogger and celebrity had
a
pair in one or more of the many color combinations.
Together they designed accessories
reflecting Valentino’s style and attention to
exceptional couture detail. The exquisite
accessories were full of Valentino glamour.
When Valentino retired in 2007
Chiuri and Piccioli were
appointed creative directors of
the Valentino accessory lines.
7. In 2008, they were appointed
as creative directors for the
whole of Valentino. Chiuri and
Piccioli.
They haven't shied away from
embracing elaborate animal
patterns and graphics,
handcrafted embellishment
including elaborate lace.
show-stopping gowns that
manage to cover much of the body, while
also revealing a woman's skin through
expert tailoring and/or swaths of sheer
fabric.
The pair have also taken inspiration
directly from artists and artistic
movements of the past, including the
Dutch Masters, Andy Warhol and even
pop art.
The pair's favorite theme is Rome —
where Valentino has its headquarters —
and Italy at large, both past and
present.
Experimenting with historical and
cultural garb. The fall 2015 couture
collection, for example, was full of
pieces that could have worked on-screen
on "Game of Thrones,"
8. The company was founded in 1946 by
designer Christian Dior. It currently designs and
retails leather goods, fashion accessories,
footwear, jewelry, timepieces, fragrance, makeup,
and skin care products, while also maintaining its
tradition as a creator of haute-couture under
the Christian Dior Couture division.
9. Simons’s creative control
didn’t extend everywhere,
and that may have gnawed at
him, too. Some areas, like
store design, were out of his
hands. There has long been a
slight disconnect between
Dior’s runway image and the
image of the brand presented
in, say, its celebrity perfume
ads
Raf Simon's for
DIOR: 2013-
2015
10. Chiuri’s DIOR
Maria Grazia Chiuri Made a
Feminist Splash for Her Dior
Debut
First-ever female creative
director in the prestigious
fashion house's 70-year
history.
The new female-led Dior is
all about celebrating the
power of women.
Feminism is the Dior New
Look
#TheWomanBehindMyDress
11. Dior gets dusty and delicate, wild
and woolly. Dior Cruise 2018
13. Lecce, Italy
An orchestra housed in
gazebo, playing
traditional Salento music
music for both the
models and a troupe
performing a modern
interpretation of the
pizzica, an Italian folk
dance.
DIOR Cruise 2021: First online fashion
show by a luxury goods company
Moroccan Motifs
16. Dior has produced
shows around a
roaring fire pit in
Marrakech,
Morocco; Canyon
Open Space
Preserve in
Calabasas,
California; and the
Blenheim Palace in
Oxford shire,
England.