Does social media have a problem with women? Dior's latest departure makes you wonder

Telegraph

29-05-2025

Maria Grazia Chiuri, the Italian designer who creatively steered Dior to unprecedented success, is to leave, it was officially announced this morning. A short statement from Dior brings to a close months of intense speculation about her position there.
The 61-year-old was the first female creative director at the house – an eye-opening state of affairs that speaks volumes about the male-dominated membrane that still encases the upper levels of the top international fashion brands. Chiuri was well aware of this and made it her mission to collaborate with as many other female artists, designers, and creatives as possible during her tenure there. For a Dior show in Marrakech in 2019, she even invited Grace Wales Bonner, the talented British designer, to interpret a Dior Bar Jacket.
But it was Chiuri's own work on the Bar Jacket that first made fashion writers take note. A central piece in the famous 1947 image featuring a Dior outfit that became known as the 'New Look', the Bar Jacket represents the essence of Christian Dior's feminine aesthetic. In its 78-year history, designers have repeatedly returned to it, reinventing it in their own ways.
The original featured internal corsetry and horsehair padding on the hips. Comfort and movement were not considerations. While its elegance and femininity were a gift to subsequent Dior designers such as John Galliano, who cinched the waist ever more tightly for dramatic effect, and Raf Simons, who turned it into more of a tuxedo, it was Chiuri who understood why very few women actually wore it in real life. By stripping it right back inside and rebuilding it with magical, light-touch tailoring that made it look every bit as snatched as the original – but a breeze to wear – Chiuri placed it on the wanted list of millions of women.
Wearing it herself with Dior jeans, Chiuri made it part of a fashion vernacular. It's less easy to mimic than Chanel's cropped tweed jacket because it relies on precision and deft tailoring (expensive and not reproducible in the average factory) rather than an easily recognisable fabrication, so the high street chains borrowed other ideas from her – lace dresses in every weight, kitten-heel slingbacks, and several million riffs on the Book Tote – that canvas tote she came up with in 2018.
Chiuri's Midas touch with bags at one point seemed unstoppable, with hit after hit. Under her watch, Dior became the most commercially successful brand in LVMH's extensive fashion stable. The market has slowed recently – but this is true for nearly all luxury fashion brands.
For some reason, all of this seems lost on a new breed of social media commentators who constantly mocked the wearability of her clothes, her strong Italian accent and endlessly wished for the announcement of her departure sooner rather than later. Anyone would think they despise older women.
These sometimes strident voices might not matter in a world where pluralistic views on all subjects are meant to thrive relatively harmoniously. But the fact that the Chiuri/Dior narrative has played out more or less as they wanted makes you appreciate how difficult it has become to steer any brand through an environment where the loudest voices are often un-nuanced and female unfriendly. All of this must have made her last year there scratchy, to say the least (although there are rumours of a spectacular golden goodbye pay-out) – but in all her encounters with the press – and she was notable for being open and approachable – she remained inscrutably serene.
'I […] am delighted to have been given this extraordinary opportunity,' she said, following the announcement. 'I would like to thank Monsieur Arnault for placing his trust in me and Delphine for her support. I am particularly grateful for the work accomplished by my teams and the Ateliers [...] Together, we have written an impactful chapter of which I am immensely proud.'
Delphine Arnault, chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture and daughter of Bernard Arnaut, CEO of LVMH, seems to appreciate her contribution however.
'I extend my warmest thanks to Maria Grazia Chiuri, who, since her arrival at Dior, has accomplished tremendous work with an inspiring feminist perspective and exceptional creativity, all imbued with the spirit of Monsieur Dior, which allowed her to design highly desirable collections. She has written a key chapter in the history of Christian Dior, greatly contributing to its remarkable growth and being the first woman to lead the creation of women's collections.'