Italian Designer Maria Grazia Chiuri Out At Dior
Dior announced Thursday that Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri was stepping down as artistic director of the French fashion house's women's collection after almost a decade on the job.
Dior has boomed since Chiuri took over in 2016, becoming the second-biggest brand in the stable of luxury labels owned by French powerhouse LVMH.
The 61-year-old designer's modernisation and feminist activism helped attract new customers.
Chiuri, who was the first woman to be named Dior's creative director after a career at Italian brands Valentino and Fendi, had long been rumoured to be on her way out.
"The House of Dior wishes today to express its deepest gratitude to Maria Grazia Chiuri after a wonderful collaboration as Artistic Director of the Women's collections since 2016," Dior said in a statement.
"After nine years, I am leaving the House of Dior, delighted by the extraordinary opportunity I have been given," Chiuri said in the statement.
Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson, who was named creative director of Dior Men last month, has been tipped as a possible successor, which would make him the first person to head both the men's and women's collections.
If that came to be, it would give "greater consistency" between the men's and women's offerings and would be "impactful for the public and for consumers", said Serge Carreira, an academic specialising in the luxury industry.
Already anticipation is building around Anderson's first Dior menswear show in June.
Chiuri on Tuesday presented Dior Women's 2026 Cruise collection in Rome, the city of her birth, in an 18th century villa.
The show concluded with a standing ovation for the designer.
Guests including Silvia Venturini Fendi, granddaughter of Fendi's founders and the menswear artistic director of the brand, and Valentino founder Valentino Garavani.
After training at Italy's Istituto Europeo di Design, Chiuri worked for Fendi in the 1990s before joining Valentino in 1999, where she and artistic partner Pier Paolo Piccioli became creative co-directors.
In 2016, she was tapped to succeed Raf Simons at Dior, and "she really wrote a whole chapter in Dior's history", said Carreira, who teaches at Paris's Sciences Po university.
Even if some critics argued that she lacked creativity, he disagreed, saying: "She managed to boost and create a very consistent identity at Dior Women... that she constantly refreshed and fed with new ideas."
Speculation already swirled around Chiuri's future at her last Paris Fashion Week in March.
Her face was inscrutable at the end of a 25-minute Fall/Winter 2025 show in the Tuileries Gardens, as she briefly acknowledged applause from a crowd that was relatively low on A-list celebrities.
Some observers had suggested the classic French house was growing stale.
Its growth is of crucial financial and dynastic importance to LVMH owner Bernard Arnault, who placed his daughter Delphine in charge of Dior in February 2023.
In the Dior statement, Delphine Arnault praised Chiuri's "immense work with an inspiring feminist viewpoint and exceptional creativity".
Speaking to Grazia magazine in February, Chiuri said she had seen the fashion business change greatly over her 40-year career.
"Fashion used to be about family companies and there were small audiences -- clients and buyers," she said. "Now fashion is like a channel. It's something more popular, it's like pop. It's a form of media."
LVMH's global first-quarter results were weaker than expected, with sales over the period dropping two percent against the backdrop of trade uncertainty unleashed by US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
French group Hermes overtook LVMH as the world's most valuable luxury company in April after shares in the Louis Vuitton maker tumbled following weaker-than-expected quarterly sales.
LVMH shares have been sliding since the end of February. Maria Grazia Chiuri's last show for Dior -- the 26 cruise collection, shown in Rome -- received a standing ovation AFP Dior is a crucial brand in the LVMH luxury group -- so much so that LVMH boss Bernard Arnault has put his daughter Delphine in charge of it AFP
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Int'l Business Times
4 days ago
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Italian Designer Maria Grazia Chiuri Out At Dior
Dior announced Thursday that Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri was stepping down as artistic director of the French fashion house's women's collection after almost a decade on the job. Dior has boomed since Chiuri took over in 2016, becoming the second-biggest brand in the stable of luxury labels owned by French powerhouse LVMH. The 61-year-old designer's modernisation and feminist activism helped attract new customers. Chiuri, who was the first woman to be named Dior's creative director after a career at Italian brands Valentino and Fendi, had long been rumoured to be on her way out. "The House of Dior wishes today to express its deepest gratitude to Maria Grazia Chiuri after a wonderful collaboration as Artistic Director of the Women's collections since 2016," Dior said in a statement. "After nine years, I am leaving the House of Dior, delighted by the extraordinary opportunity I have been given," Chiuri said in the statement. Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson, who was named creative director of Dior Men last month, has been tipped as a possible successor, which would make him the first person to head both the men's and women's collections. If that came to be, it would give "greater consistency" between the men's and women's offerings and would be "impactful for the public and for consumers", said Serge Carreira, an academic specialising in the luxury industry. Already anticipation is building around Anderson's first Dior menswear show in June. Chiuri on Tuesday presented Dior Women's 2026 Cruise collection in Rome, the city of her birth, in an 18th century villa. The show concluded with a standing ovation for the designer. Guests including Silvia Venturini Fendi, granddaughter of Fendi's founders and the menswear artistic director of the brand, and Valentino founder Valentino Garavani. After training at Italy's Istituto Europeo di Design, Chiuri worked for Fendi in the 1990s before joining Valentino in 1999, where she and artistic partner Pier Paolo Piccioli became creative co-directors. In 2016, she was tapped to succeed Raf Simons at Dior, and "she really wrote a whole chapter in Dior's history", said Carreira, who teaches at Paris's Sciences Po university. Even if some critics argued that she lacked creativity, he disagreed, saying: "She managed to boost and create a very consistent identity at Dior Women... that she constantly refreshed and fed with new ideas." Speculation already swirled around Chiuri's future at her last Paris Fashion Week in March. Her face was inscrutable at the end of a 25-minute Fall/Winter 2025 show in the Tuileries Gardens, as she briefly acknowledged applause from a crowd that was relatively low on A-list celebrities. Some observers had suggested the classic French house was growing stale. Its growth is of crucial financial and dynastic importance to LVMH owner Bernard Arnault, who placed his daughter Delphine in charge of Dior in February 2023. In the Dior statement, Delphine Arnault praised Chiuri's "immense work with an inspiring feminist viewpoint and exceptional creativity". Speaking to Grazia magazine in February, Chiuri said she had seen the fashion business change greatly over her 40-year career. "Fashion used to be about family companies and there were small audiences -- clients and buyers," she said. "Now fashion is like a channel. It's something more popular, it's like pop. It's a form of media." LVMH's global first-quarter results were weaker than expected, with sales over the period dropping two percent against the backdrop of trade uncertainty unleashed by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. French group Hermes overtook LVMH as the world's most valuable luxury company in April after shares in the Louis Vuitton maker tumbled following weaker-than-expected quarterly sales. LVMH shares have been sliding since the end of February. Maria Grazia Chiuri's last show for Dior -- the 26 cruise collection, shown in Rome -- received a standing ovation AFP Dior is a crucial brand in the LVMH luxury group -- so much so that LVMH boss Bernard Arnault has put his daughter Delphine in charge of it AFP
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Photos of Margot Wölk as a young woman Image: Markus Schreiber/AP Photo/picture alliance In an interview with Der Spiegel in 2013, she did however mention being raped by one of the SS officers while she was working as a taster. She was also raped repeatedly by Soviet soldiers after she returned to Berlin. More than a year after the end of the war, she was reunited with her husband, who was also traumatized by his wartime experiences. Postorino tried to reach Wölk to interview her for the novel, but the elderly woman died in 2014 before they could talk. Lacking historical evidence After a documentary featuring Margot Wölk came out in 2014, German historian Sven-Felix Kellerhoff pointed out that the story was unlikely to be true. In his piece for the daily Welt, he points out that in the final years of his life, Hitler had digestive problems, and that instead of eating the meals prepared for his inner circle, he hired a dietician who prepared special meals for him in a separate kitchen close to his bunker, within "Sperrkreis 1" (Security Zone 1). It therefore wouldn't have made much sense to have had the food transported outside of this highly restricted area to have it tasted by a group of women before Hitler's meals. In this new book, Felix Bohr looks into how the Wolf's Lair was organized According to Felix Bohr in his new book "Before the Downfall: Hitler's Years in the 'Wolf's Lair'," the first dietician to cook separately for Hitler, Helene von Exner, was hired in July 1943. Before that, a cook called Otto Günther prepared meals in large pots for the Nazi leaders based at the Wolf's Lair. Beyond Hitler's inner circle, up to 2,000 people were working in the Wolf's Lair. 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For filmmaker Silvio Soldini, the story reflects today's political violence Image: Elizabeth Grenier/DW Surviving an assassination attempt as a sign of providence One thing that historians have definitely well documented are the various attempts to kill Hitler. At least 42 plots have been uncovered. The best-known one is Operation Valkyrie, in which Wehrmacht officers, led by Claus von Stauffenberg, tried to kill Hitler at the Wolf's Lair by detonating an explosive hidden in a briefcase. This failed assassination attempt on July 20, 1944 is also referred to in the film through Hitler's actual radio broadcast, in which he describes the attack that killed four people and injured 20 more. "I myself am completely unhurt except for very small skin abrasions, bruises or burns," stated the leader of Nazi Germany at the time. Like Trump following his assassination attempt in July 2024, Hitler saw the fact that he survived the attack practically unharmed as a sign of destiny: "I take it as a confirmation of the mission of providence to continue to pursue my life purpose, as I have done so far." Edited by: Brenda Haas
