After much speculation, it has been announced today (May 29) that Maria Grazia Chiuri is stepping down from her role as Dior’s creative director of womenswear. The news follows the impressive Dior Cruise SS26 show, which was held at Villa Albani Torlonia in Rome on Tuesday (May 27). 

It is widely expected (though unconfirmed), that Jonathan Anderson – who was appointed artistic director of Dior men’s last month – will replace Chiuri to oversee womenswear as well as the men’s collections. 

“I am particularly grateful for the work accomplished by my teams and the ateliers,” Chiuri said in a statement. “Their talent and expertise allowed me to realise my vision of committed women’s fashion, in close dialogue with several generations of female artists. Together, we have written an impactful chapter of which I am immensely proud.”

Before becoming the first female creative of Dior back in 2016 – following in the footsteps of Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, and Raf Simons – Chiuri spent 17 years working closely with Pierpaolo Piccioli at Valentino. The duo were named co-creative directors of the house in 2008. Born and raised in Rome, Chiuri studied fashion design at the Italian capital’s Istituto Europeo di Design, before meeting Piccioli through a mutual friend in the early 80s. 

By 2015, Chiuri and Piccioli had grown Valentino to reach an impressive $1 billion in revenue, and in the same year, they won the CFDA International Award. Then, nine months after Simons’ departure from Dior, Chiuri made history as the maison’s first female designer. During her time at Dior, she was responsible for major fashion moments such as the popular ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ T-shirt, collections that paid homage to historical female figures and campaigns starring ambassadors such as Rosalía, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Rihanna. 

She reintroduced the Dior saddle bag and, in 2019, was awarded the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest honour. It’s yet to be revealed what Chiuri’s next move will be post-Dior, though with the industry’s disappointing lack of women at the head of brands, we can only hope she plans on sticking around.