Maria Grazia Chiuri - Designer, Creative Director of Christian Dior

[FashionPower]

I don't believe a single written word honestly.
Maria has been the Best thing that could have ever happened to Dior after the Raf commercial fiasco.
She's not Just a Book tote, she is much more than that: made couture greatly profitable and skyrocketed sales, designed an insane amount of items that turned into Dior wardrobe staples: the bar jacket paired with tiered mid length tulle skirt, knitwear replicating artworks by Pietro Ruffo, the J'adior slingbacks, the belted chemisiers, the couture greco roman draped gowns.
She managed to build a very strong point of view despite relying maybe too much on gimmicks, especially at the beginning of her career.
She shaped a specific image of the Dior woman among the General public and consumer: if you ask people with Little knowledge of fashion they don't tell you about Galliano drag Queen couture or Raf impeccable tailor with a hint of intellectualism, they tell you about tulle skirt paired with a cachemire embroidered sweater and a bar jacket.

 

[LadyJunon]

I don't believe a single written word honestly.
Maria has been the Best thing that could have ever happened to Dior after the Raf commercial fiasco.
She's not Just a Book tote, she is much more than that: made couture greatly profitable and skyrocketed sales, designed an insane amount of items that turned into Dior wardrobe staples: the bar jacket paired with tiered mid length tulle skirt, knitwear replicating artworks by Pietro Ruffo, the J'adior slingbacks, the belted chemisiers, the couture greco roman draped gowns.
She managed to build a very strong point of view despite relying maybe too much on gimmicks, especially at the beginning of her career.
She shaped a specific image of the Dior woman among the General public and consumer: if you ask people with Little knowledge of fashion they don't tell you about Galliano drag Queen couture or Raf impeccable tailor with a hint of intellectualism, they tell you about tulle skirt paired with a cachemire embroidered sweater and a bar jacket.

Yes, and now it's time to destroy that image and create something new.

 

[Lola701]

Vacarello entered the chat carrying a roll of lace

Good for him because he is not a Couturier lol. He is a designer, artistic director.
I saw the dress of the star of Emilia Perez…A mess of draping.

Interesting .
I thought she was doing the LG and Accessories at Valentino, whereas PPP was doing the couture/ fashion (I loved his first solo Haute Couture shows at Valentino).

To me, her legacy at Dior will be the revamping of the Saddle and the Book Tote. And a certain very conventional idea of what a glamourous dress should be.
For me, she's a tulle-plisseuse.
A coutourier is another thing.

Since Warhol, the idea of a gifted technician is regarded with contempt. That's a craftman.
The true artist has great ideas. Execution is secondary (it comes all from Marcel Duchamp's fountain).
And don't get me wrong, I am all for crazy ideas. But you have to be Margiela. Not copy Margiela: be Margiela.

As a result of that "only-a-strong-pov-matters-attitude" we have almost no virtuosos anymore.

I don't want a petite main at the helm of Dior.
But the couturier I speak of is so obsessed with cut, draping, textures, fabrics, colors, shapes that he/she has developed naturally also a strong pov.

After all these years of mediocrity, people are ready to dream again with Dior. The success of Schiaparelli proves it.

Technically, a Couturier is someone who does Couture.
In the past, it was seen in such a high regard by the designers themselves as a community that they had to somehow prove themselves.

She did Haute Couture at Dior. She is a Couturière.

The question of talent is something else.

Alexis Mabille is a Couturier but to me, he is one of the worst designers in the world. You would expect from someone who has been working for years in Haute Couture to choose decent fabrics…But no.

I think there are levels in Couturiers and you see it in their ability to challenge themselves and techniques.

To me, her legacy is actually important because she made Dior approachable, wearable for a lot of women. I totally understand in a way her filiation with Marc Bohan because they are a bit of the same. Marc Bohan’s work was more interesting but under him, Dior wasn’t a leading fashion voice. However, Dior was still worn by a lot of women as he managed to create something else out of the spirit of Dior.

I’m not a Dior person. I enjoyed the Galliano years because I love John. I didn’t enjoyed the RAF years but there were good products so I bought them. I don’t care for MGC but I know so many women who really enjoys and buys her stuff. She opened the doors of Dior to many women who probably loved the core-conservative and chic aesthetic but found it difficult to integrate in their real life.

But from a fashion fan perspective, always looking for « what’s next », her tenure has been hell. Her bar jackets are so annoying too and I can’t tolerate another a line belted dress. But she was the right person at the right place at the right moment. Now, it’s time again for Dior to look forward.

 

[tourbillions]

their best bet is to find someone to warm the seat and wait for burton to finish her givenchy contract and promote her to dior. If she taps into that galliano era and modernize it... we will be in for a ride

 

[FashionPower]

Guess Maria is leaving for real...latest news from boring, allegedly JWA will manager both mens and womens

 

[JohannesL]

Doesn't Burton still have to prove if she can save Givenchy on the deathbed? Now I am curious if JWA would switch to totally different aesthetic atDior so Burton's Givenchy would contiune what Maria Grazia left at Dior.

 

[tourbillions]

Doesn't Burton still have to prove if she can save Givenchy on the deathbed?

i think she will be fine... theres a lot of high ranking c suit women (maybe men too) and royals who are following her.

 

[JohannesL]

Guess Maria is leaving for real...latest news from boring, allegedly JWA will manager both mens and womens
View attachment 1337853

I have the feeling that JWA and MB would become a duo in TFS like the female trio (Maria, Sarah and Virgine) did back before Sabato days.

 

[tourbillions]

I have the feeling that JWA and MB would become a duo in TFS like the female trio (Maria, Sarah and Virgine) did back before Sabato days.

at this point they are a trio... jwa, mb and lee

 

[Lola701]

Weirdly with the perspective of Jonathan Anderson taking over Dior, I’m thinking about Wales Bonner doing the menswear…Or taking over Loewe.

I feel like doing Dior as a whole is a huge task for JW. Of course he will have a team but it’s insane. And now that he is embarking on movie projects, it’s almost 20 collections a year to oversee. I’m sure Benjamin Bruno is already tired over the perspective of styling all those clothes lol.

 

[Kimihiro]

I just don’t see them handing both men and women to anyone.