Maria Grazia Chiuri
Creative Director, Dior
The first woman to be appointed to lead the ateliers and design teams of the famed house of Christian Dior has over 25 years experience in the industry, including a successful eight-year tenure as co-creative director of Valentino.
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Prior to her appointment as Dior’s first female creative director, Chiuri spent 17 years at Valentino, including eight at the brand’s creative helm alongside long-term collaborator Pierpaolo Piccioli . The award-winning duo successfully redefined Valentino brand codes, growing the business to reach $1 billion in revenue in 2015.
Chiuri studied at Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome. In the early 1980s, she met Piccioli through a mutual friend in the city, and when she joined Fendi as a designer in 1989, she drafted in Piccioli to work alongside her in the accessories department.
In 1999, she joined Valentino as an accessory designer, quickly bringing on board her creative partner. After revamping the luxury brand’s handbag and eyewear collections, they were selected to design its Red Valentino diffusion line in 2003 and later given responsibility over the brand’s entire accessories range. Following Valentino Garavani ’s retirement, and the short lived tenure of the Alessandra Facchinetti , they were named co-creative directors in 2008.
At the time, though still a red carpet favourite, Valentino was struggling to reclaim the international cachet it once had. Chiuri and Piccioli pushed Valentino back to the forefront of fashion, breathing new creative energy into the brand, revitalising its menswear business and growing its accessories division with blockbuster styles like the Rockstud. In 2015, Chiuri and Piccioli received the CFDA International Award.
In July 2016, almost nine months after Raf Simons stepped down as creative director of Dior, Chiuri was announced as his successor. The first female creative director in the brand’s history showed her debut collection for Dior at Paris Fashion Week in September 2016. Pierpaolo Piccioli now serves as Valentino’s sole creative director.
Under Chiuri's direction, Dior brought back its saddle bag alongside an influencer marketing strategy that saw images of the accessory across Instagram, worn by the likes of Camila Coelho and Bella Hadid . She also created slogan T-shirts quoting feminists such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and late American art historian Linda Nochlin.
In July 2019, Chiuri was awarded the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest honour.
VITAL STATISTICS
What is The BoF 500?
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The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world.
ExploreBackstage Pass: Dior and the Purpose of Haute Couture
Imran Amed speaks to industry insiders at the brand’s Haute Couture 2024 show about the importance of craftsmanship.
Couture’s Season of Monumentalism
A sense of sculptural rigidity and a stiff monumentalism was all over Paris Couture Week, writes Angelo Flaccavento.
Dior and Saint Laurent: Designers Defiant!
At Paris Fashion Week, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Anthony Vaccarello went their own way in radically different style, writes Tim Blanks.
Dior: How to Build a Long-Term Brand Image
Dior veteran Olivier Bialobos has balanced heritage, innovation and unprecedented scale as he steered communications through the tenures of a succession of designers and three CEOS. "Desirability — not just visibility— has to be the target," he told BoF in The State of Fashion 2024.
Dior: How to Build a Long-Term Brand Image
Dior veteran Olivier Bialobos has balanced heritage, innovation and unprecedented scale as he steered communications through the tenures of a succession of designers and three CEOS. "Desirability — not just visibility— has to be the target," he told BoF in The State of Fashion 2024.
Paris Couture Week: All or Nothing
Couture Week was a polarised affair, opposing restraint and excess, technique and showmanship, real clothes and wild storytelling, with little in between, writes Angelo Flaccavento.
The Debrief | Inside the $7 Billion Dior Phenomenon
How the 75-year-old luxury house tripled its revenue in just four years, according to BoF luxury editor Robert Williams.
Case Study | Inside the $7 Billion Dior Phenomenon
How did a 75-year-old brand triple its revenues in just four years? By overhauling its commercial offer, racing into e-commerce and investing in spectacular flagships, Christian Dior Couture has radically accelerated its business, transforming itself into “a homegrown Chanel challenger within LVMH.”
Case Study | Inside the $7 Billion Dior Phenomenon
How did a 75-year-old brand triple its revenues in just four years? By overhauling its commercial offer, racing into e-commerce and investing in spectacular flagships, Christian Dior Couture has radically accelerated its business, transforming itself into “a homegrown Chanel challenger within LVMH.”
In Search of Modern Couture
Tradition coursed through the veins of Paris couture week with few outliers, reports Angelo Flaccavento.
Couture’s Brave New World
Balenciaga and Dior may offer radically different visions, but haute couture is always about an emotional response, writes Tim Blanks.
Departed Designers, Living Legacies
Dior and Saint Laurent showcase the challenges that lie ahead for the keepers of Virgil Abloh’s legacy.
What is The BoF 500?
The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world.
![BoF500-2024_Medallion](https://img.businessoffashion.com/resizer/v2/QSFLGICTLFBNNKJQC5IX6QP2WY.png?auth=9bf7d099f92095bf5c75508a53111103d14e35a1909041285718dfae28987cfa&width=570)