Maria Grazia Chiuri Leaves Her Legacy at Dior

After nine years at the helm of Dior’s women’s collections, Maria Grazia Chiuri is stepping down. The news isn’t unexpected - fashion rumours have gained momentum especially when she showed both Resort alongside her Haute Couture FW25 collection which was meant to premiere in July - but it does mark the end of an era, and one that is steeped in impact.

Chiuri’s appointment in 2016 was historic, as the first woman to lead the house’s womenswear in its then 70 year history.  She brought gender politics to the runway, which was both widely applauded and criticised. Feminist slogans taken from author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, appeared in T-shirt form, in embroidery and collaborations with female artists and writers became embedded in her practice, platforming both new and established - but not necessarily widely recognized - voices. More than anything, she shifted the tone of Dior away from mythic femininity toward something more grounded, more everyday. The result was a commercial success too.

Across nearly a decade, Chiuri built a vocabulary rooted in craft, symbolism, and a kind of everyday strength. Feminism wasn’t a seasonal theme, it was a framework. Her silhouettes often nodded to history without leaning on nostalgia. She reintroduced icons like the Saddle Bag and made the runway a platform for questions, not just aesthetics. This was a Dior that dressed women, not just the idea of them.

Her tenure was defined by intention. Collections returned again and again to the same set of questions: about womanhood, heritage, and how clothes can carry meaning without putting on a show. Her work was research-led, often shaped through dialogue with other creatives like Judy Chicago, Penny Slinger, Joana Vasconcelos, Sharon Eyal and Claire Fontaine. Even her campaigns were helmed by women - from Brigitte Lacombe to Brigitte Niedermair. Her legacy lives on in the collections women will continue to wear, the imagery she created and the structures she shaped, both within the industry and further in the cultural landscape.

Shop some of her pieces while they are still available and virtually explore the Dior Savoir Faire Pop Up on Bond Street