Maria Grazia Chiuri - Designer, Creative Director of Christian Dior

[carla56]

Not believing this until I see the official press release statement from Dior.
Maria turned Dior into one of the greatest luxury cash cows, no way they're gonna let her go so easily.
I don't think there is a problem with her willing to go back to Rome, she rarely is in Paris or in the ateliers whatsoever, we know that most of the actual work is done by her close assistant "right hand", the woman you see in every "making of" video.
She's not different than a Miuccia, she just provides inputs and inspirations and then let the design team come up with proposals that she validates.

They’re not gonna let her go, they are moving her from a brand where she created a lot of profits that can continue selling, to put her in a sleepy brand that could only profit from her boring but commercial products. And in the meantime they could reignite some fuel and curiosity in dior with one of their most talented and loved creatives… and I say that while not liking both Mariagrazia and JW

 

[Lola701]

They’re not gonna let her go, they are moving her from a brand where she created a lot of profits that can continue selling, to put her in a sleepy brand that could only profit from her boring but commercial products. And in the meantime they could reignite some fuel and curiosity in dior with one of their most talented and loved creatives… and I say that while not liking both Mariagrazia and JW

Nobody at LVMH is talking about Fabio Z?
He cannot be here like a banal free agent!

 

[Drusilla_]

Very important sources are now telling that she's the one going to Fendi, not Pierpaolo... LVMH don't want to lose her, but she wants to go back living in Rome so they are giving her Fendi woman... the other thing that is almos official is that JW is leaving Loewe, so he's probably taking her place at Dior...

I think she'd be good for Fendi, funnily enough.

 

[alwaysademo]

^For business ofc, not for old customers who just want beautiful things.

 

[Drusilla_]

^yeah but sometimes you get a VV out of prioritising the latter. Neither is a certified win for fashion design, it depends on what they put out.

 

[Lola701]

^yeah but sometimes you get a VV out of prioritising the latter. Neither is a certified win for fashion design, it depends on what they put out.

Safety and all this beige commercialism hasn’t worked out quite well for Fendi though. I hope Silvia’s collection will have a momentum and maybe influence them on a certain direction. Fendi is bold, undeniably and it’s not a word I associate with MGC.

 

[Drusilla_]

Safety and all this beige commercialism hasn’t worked out quite well for Fendi though.

quite literally beige, some of those colour palettes under KJ.....

but Fendi isn't a house from which I expect revolutionary RTW, my guess is what they'll want from MGC is her merchandising/accessory eye.

 

[Lola701]

quite literally beige, some of those colour palettes under KJ.....

but Fendi isn't a house from which I expect revolutionary RTW, my guess is what they'll want from MGC is her merchandising/accessory eye.

It all depends on the project they have for the house.
I’m personally speaking from my ex-customer POV. I don’t go to Fendi for basics. Much like I don’t go to Vuitton for basics either.

My thing with MGC is that, Silvia will remain as the the director of accessories. Her creations are still the cash cows of the brand and I’m sure the anniversary show will again be a display of that and will probably put the spotlights again on the peekaboo and Baguette.
So what’s the added value of MGC if it’s not fashion? Because nobody is going to Fendi to do Silvia’s job.

 

[LadyJunon]

The end is nigh:

Dior’s Women’s Business Is ‘Under Pressure,’ but Fixable: HSBC
A new report on luxury giant LVMH dives into creative and management changes, flagging Loewe's star designer Jonathan Anderson as a possible "eventual" successor to Maria Grazia Chiuri.

By Miles Socha
January 10, 2025, 12:14pm

What should be the top of LVMH’s to-do list in a slowing luxury sector? Tackling so-called “greedflation,” explaining its recent rash of management changes, and fixing Dior, where the women’s business is “under pressure.”

So says HSBC in a new report on LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which is due to report fourth-quarter sales in the coming weeks.

The bank maintains a “buy” rating on the stock and is forecasting a “slight improvement” at group level — a 2 percent decline, versus 3 percent in the third quarter — and at its linchpin fashion and leather goods division: a 4 percent erosion versus 5 percent for the previous quarter.
“We remain convinced, for the sector as well as for LVMH, that Chinese consumption has not deteriorated further since Q3 2024, while American consumption of luxury has picked up convincingly since the early November 2024 election,” said the report, which lists as authors the analysts Erwan Rambourg, Anne-Laure Bismuth and Aurelie Husson-Dumoutier.

It also noted that LVMH is the luxury group that is most exposed to the U.S. consumer — therefore the biggest winner from any improvements — and the biggest beneficiary from recent strength in the U.S. dollar.

The report also addressed head-on a slowdown at Dior, which it ranks as the group’s biggest contributor of profits at the level of earnings before interest and taxes after its flagship Louis Vuitton brand.

HSBC estimated revenues at Dior almost quadrupled from 2.7 billion euros in 2018 to exceed 9 billion euros in 2023 — comparative to the explosive growth Gucci experienced under designer Alessandro Michele, growth that quickly fizzled and has yet to improve under his successor, Sabato De Sarno.

“’Does this make Dior the next Gucci?’ is a question we are often asked,” the report said. “Our view is that it is absolutely not the case because management focus and brand investments have been unwavering and the brand has not had a major creative shift like at Gucci. Moreover, some would argue that Dior is less fashion-driven.”

That said, HSBC argued that designs from Dior have become “a bit stale and repetitive,” with men’s goods by designer Kim Jones “doing well still” and women’s goods by Maria Grazia Chiuri “under more pressure.”

“Based on our seven-year rule, it could be time for the brand to shift designers for the latter,” the report said, flagging the possibility that Loewe’s fashion star Jonathan Anderson “could take over from Ms. Chiuri eventually.”

HSBC argued Dior — like Saint Laurent and Burberry — drove up prices too quickly in recent years, alienating many luxury consumers. It expects the fashion house to “work on new collections that offer a better value proposition” rather than lowering prices.

It also applauded the recent recruitment of Miu Miu chief executive officer Benedetta Petruzzo as managing director of Dior Couture, which “could enable a brand reboot, focusing on innovation and product creativity, without changing designers.”

HSBC said a recent rash of management changes at LVMH at the corporate level, and its wines and spirits division, also ranks as a top investor concern.

“Our take overall is that the group is not reacting to external pressures (weak sales), rather, going through teething issues as there is an assumption that control will eventually trickle down from the current CEO, Bernard Arnault, to his five children, who are all employed by the group,” said the report, characterizing concerns as “premature” as Arnault, 75, recently extended his leadership mandate to age 80.

“Given the quality of managers within the group as well as the experience of all five Arnault descendants…we believe the group has many qualified future leaders in-house and has, if needed, the potential to attract more talent,” it said.

WWD

 

[Salvatore]

Not sure what we will be trading for with JW Anderson, but getting MGC away from Dior is so exciting. It's like when Frida finally left Gucci.

 

[dssfsafdds]

The end is nigh:


WWD

Someone from Prada, Chloe or Simone Rocha would be great as replacements as well

 

[george5]

The end is nigh:


WWD

Fixable ? Both her and Kim's focus-group approved directions ran out of steam a long time ago. The way this house let Slimane and then Galliano go like nothing yet they still try to make Maria and Kim happen will always be a mystery for me.

I really hope this is the beginning of the end of the corporate creative directors era. Fashion is literally begging for creativity and personality.

 

[TomBlanksFullFatMiuMiu]

Galliano and Hedi back at Dior would create an insane amount of buzz
Or Hedi takes both men’s and women’s
No JW or any other names, please

 

[Monsieur Cristobal]

You know what I would find revolutionary, for once?
That a French Haute-Couture House would chose a couturier.
Someone who goes beyond the UPS tshirt or the feminist tshirt and knows about flou and tailleur, draping, patterns, bias cut... such silly things.

Crazy, right?

 

[Frederic01]

HSBC argued Dior — like Saint Laurent and Burberry — drove up prices too quickly in recent years, alienating many luxury consumers. It expects the fashion house to “work on new collections that offer a better value proposition” rather than lowering prices.

More low cost items with logos and more oblique pattern amazing.

HSBC is absolutely right, Dior is at peak greedflation. The prices are ridiculous and the design is really cheap and nasty. And they wonder why the appetite for luxury items is decreasing at such a rapid rate when they're putting out things like this every few months for quick cash grabs...


DIOR AU

 

[Lola701]

Galliano and Hedi back at Dior would create an insane amount of buzz
Or Hedi takes both men’s and women’s
No JW or any other names, please

What a depressing vision for fashion no?
I lived through that. We have to look forward guys! Lol!

You know what I would find revolutionary, for once?
That a French Haute-Couture House would chose a couturier.
Someone who goes beyond the UPS tshirt or the feminist tshirt and knows about flou and tailleur, draping, patterns, bias cut... such silly things.

Crazy, right?

She is a couturière. She knows about all of that. Her aesthetic is just boring…that’s all.
She loves plissés, it’s her right but it’s boring c’est tout lol.

Choosing a Couturier doesn’t mean anything actually. You needs someone who could challenge the Atelier and have a fresh POV on the « French house » vocabulary.

Because those huge machines of brands needs more than a technical knowledge. Technical knowledge is only useful to not look dumb when you are challenged by a premiere or an apprenti.