Maria Grazia Chiuri - Designer

[oioioi]

Lewissmag fawning over MGC and posting about how excellent and beautiful her Dior collections were…..we’ve lost the plot

He's biased to his own tastes, which is baffling as he is a semi-design/'fashion' writer? Rates Uniqlo U, Uniqlo C, Margaret Howell, Loro Piana, Mordecai, Wales Bonner, The Row. I agree about his comments about the craftsmanship and comfortable silhouettes of MGC's Dior, but the critique often doesn't have a 360 view of the totality of the analysis or understanding of how a certain creative director has developed etc, whether they have a strong POV. There can't just be 1 type of design/aesthetic in all of fashion, there are different customers and tastes, and fashion and comfortable clothing to me require different standards to critique.

 

[Xone]

He's biased to his own tastes, which is baffling as he is a semi-design/'fashion' writer? Rates Uniqlo U, Uniqlo C, Margaret Howell, Loro Piana, Mordecai, Wales Bonner, The Row. I agree about his comments about the craftsmanship and comfortable silhouettes of MGC's Dior, but the critique often doesn't have a 360 view of the totality of the analysis or understanding of how a certain creative director has developed etc, whether they have a strong POV. There can't just be 1 type of design/aesthetic in all of fashion, there are different customers and tastes, and fashion and comfortable clothing to me require different standards to critique.

and he suggested on his stories that she would great for Armani....

 

[Xone]

 

[GivenchyAddict]

LVMH were quick! They were waiting for months to release this statement. 😂

 

[pradn]

 

[Xone]

What it means this…what happened between her and Pietro B?

 

[oioioi]

What it means this…what happened between her and Pietro B?

View attachment 1383105

But why would she thank PB? I know they were together for some time but he left Dior 2.5 years ago.
Susanna Nicoletti is kind of random, she writes these very sweeping statements on LinkedIn about how Bruno Cucinell is real design, writes off anything vaguely fashion as 'joke clothing' but doesn't understand fashion doesn't have to be just linen pants from Rome or Italy? She always talks about how her experience at Prada was a masterclass exercise but was there 3 months, bizzare. Quite out of the loop, I remember a recent post of hers saying why does the very energetic Pietro need a deputy CEO let him do his job, but in fact its Pietro who asked for Damien to be his deputy (who worked under him at Dior many years together) because the sheer amount of work to do at LV esp with the growth under Pharrell, NG, Objet Nomad, LV Dream Cafe is astronomical.

 

[Creative]

Lewissmag fawning over MGC and posting about how excellent and beautiful her Dior collections were…..we’ve lost the plot

I know right? I was shocked

 

[Creative]

What it means this…what happened between her and Pietro B?

She also worked under Sidney and didn't mention him... I know there were very strong rumors when Kim Jones Dior Men skyrocketed that could've hurt her if they were true, but I wonder now if they had some beef.

But it's not that weird not to mention him in that post I think. If she had mentioned him it would've sound as if DA was not great enough? IDK.

I belive if Dior is where it is now it's 50% thanks to Pietro, 50% thanks to MGC. He was so great and had so many great ideas, so inspiring. So can't be compared to Sidney and maybe deserved a mention... haha

 

[GRCF]

I Wonder if Delphine has fully considered and taken into account the risks of switching aesthetic at Dior in a period of great economical uncertainty. If I remember correctly, this is the first time a designer Who is known for great commercial success is asked to leave to create a new vision of the brand, even if the designer output is not underperforming. Getting Maria out and Jonathan in will imply a gradual (I suppose) discontinuining of Maria's Best sellers:
- J'adior slingbacks
- Book tote
- A line belted dresses
- Tulle / sheer high waisted skirts
- The Pietro Ruffo / artists alterations of the cachemire knit
- The saddle re-edition

Most People are taking Jonathan's success at Dior for granted but...I don't know, I'm skeptical. Dior customers have burgeouisized themselved very much under Maria's tenure and no one is going to buy drag Queen couture a la Galliano in 2025 (sorry Galliano lovers in here but we all know those couture Egyptian collections Did Not sell a single piece...). Jonathan will have to compromise his vision very much to maintain balance over the thinning line of basic merchandising and fashion savvyness.

This! Say what you will about MGC, she understood the assignment and delivered on what the Dior woman is. Was it boring? Sure, but she understood the Dior customer. I don’t see how JWA’s vision fits Dior. I don’t think he can deliver without compromising on his vision, like you said.

I think part of it is LVMH recycling designers and artists, because apparently there aren’t any so they have to use the same tired people over and over. I guess we should just be glad it wasn’t Kanye or Pharrell, I guess Delphine hasn’t fully lost her mind. She obviously sees something in his talent that I find lacking, because if I am being honest while JWA’s work is fun it is nothing that amazes me. But maybe he proves me wrong.

 

[Norden]

I think as a designer she was fine for Dior, but with her consistency came also a repeat of the same problems, drab colors, really flat themes and often cringe worthy sets. One of the highlights was the mumbai collection, it felt like she broke a bit out of her thing and gave us more colors.

whoever said shed be great at Armani is right, I think she's a really great successor. and that also brings to light my biggest issue with her at Dior, its simply too Italian for Dior. I really associate her work with the hallmarks of Italian design, and that's of course a compliment. But Dior needs a bit more of a French streak, it can be a bit more mean, elevated and feisty. At this moment Dior is not demanding anything from its clientele, and that will hurt its brand in the long run.

 

[carla56]

Tbh, I have to say that it is a GREAT example of how to stop a collab with a designer. Very well managed, at least publicly.

I was pleasantly surprised that they also posted a video of her "greatest hits" (an eternal parade of goddess dresses and tulle skirts)... you don't see it ofter, or maybe I've never seen it!

 

[carla56]

I think as a designer she was fine for Dior, but with her consistency came also a repeat of the same problems, drab colors, really flat themes and often cringe worthy sets. One of the highlights was the mumbai collection, it felt like she broke a bit out of her thing and gave us more colors.

whoever said shed be great at Armani is right, I think she's a really great successor. and that also brings to light my biggest issue with her at Dior, its simply too Italian for Dior. I really associate her work with the hallmarks of Italian design, and that's of course a compliment. But Dior needs a bit more of a French streak, it can be a bit more mean, elevated and feisty. At this moment Dior is not demanding anything from its clientele, and that will hurt its brand in the long run.

Well considering Dior doesn't have a French designer since 1988, and won't have it even in the next year you may be deluded

 

[FashionPower]

I think the opposite regarding her departure honestly, probably the messiest move ever from LVMH.
Rumors of Jonathan leaving Loewe back in late 2023, all the insiders knowing that he started visiting the Dior ateliers in beginning 2024, the messy rumors regarding Jonathan working with the couture ateliers while Maria Grazia and her team were still working in the same building...insiders already knew 6 months ago Maria Grazia was going to leave Dior. Furthermore, what is the actual point in making a joint collection cruise + couture and skip the couture season?

 

[Thefrenchy]

^ Agreed, we've known forever and it was grotesque to wait for so long.

Never liked her vision of Dior and never will, but I applaud her for having appealed to a certain clientele and launched best-sellers. She's a great merchandiser.

 

[LadyJunon]

I've been waiting so long to reuse this gif by @Wintergreen:

 

[FashionPower]

I almost always agree with you but I have to differ here.

MGC had a very clear vision of her Dior (even if I hated it) and she boosted the business because she's a great marketer. She did a boutique line for RTW, which Dior never had before, it was called 30 Montaigne and was a commercial success. RTW exploded under her, Tshirts, jeans, skirts, the new bar jacket, windbreakers, dresses...

For the bags, she did amazing. The launch of the Book Tote, the saddle, the new editions of the Lady Dior (with the flap), in canvas... The 30 Montaigne was also quite huge.

For the shoes as well... She had the Converse, the J'adior being a success from minute 1.

The fashion acc were better curated than before and the category also exploded.

VV at Chanel is a completely different story. She followed what Karl did and her collections did better because of the brand itself (openings, marketing and businesses strategies, etc). She didn't have a vision. She didn't change Chanel. She didn't launch anything (the garbage bag aside).

People don't know how small Dior was before MGC. Now it's a top 5 brand and I must say it's thanks to her vision and Pietro's. If there's something undeniable is that she was a great commercial success and that she had a very sharp vision regarding product and the business.

And for fashion fatigue, it's her fault actually. Since she's a one trick pony, you get tired. JW at Loewe was there for 10 years and tbh, there was no fatigue and it felt fresh all the time.

Edit: I forgot that she was the one redoing the oblique. Before her, it didn't exist in people's minds. Now it's a staple and as famous as the LV monogram.

Exactly.
I think people are simply pretending to forget how bad (both commercially and fashion wise) latest years of Galliano at Dior (e.g., complete autopilot collections) because you know...the drag queen couture of the early 2000's!
Dior was honestly terrible prior to Maria's appointment: brand image was all over the place under Galliano and Raf burnt out after 2 seasons...
Let me list of the commercial hits Maria Grazia released in 9 years:
- Feminist propaganda t-shirt (ok quite cringy and everything but they sold well, I did not like those either)
- Branded underwear from the first RTW collection
- Pietro Ruffo / artist re-edition of basic knitwear, released for the SS17 show, still selling
- Dior book tote, released for the FW17 show, still selling
- J'adior slingbacks, released for the SS17 show, still selling
- Star sole sneakers, released for the SS17 show, still selling in different versions / alterations
- The double pearl earrings, released for the SS17 show, still selling
- The toile de jouy motif, still selling in different versions / alterations on accessories and RTW
- The saddle re-edition
- The east-west version of the Lady Dior
- The bucket bag version of the Lady Dior
- The messenger version of the Lady Dior
- Tulle high waisted skirts, still selling in different versions / alterations, now a Dior staple
- A line belted dress, still selling in different versions / alterations, now a Dior staple
- The CHRISTIAN DIOR book tote logo: on t-shirts, leisurewear, fabric accessories
- The summer capsule collections
- The 30 Montaigne permanent collection
- Re-issue of the Dior oblique: on accessories, leisurewear, windbreakers, outerwear
- 30 Montaigne bag

Of course she had her flops too: the Groove bowling bag, the 95.22 bag, the Miss Dior line...no one is saying she was perfect, but diminishing and underestimating the huge impact she had on Dior is simply ridicolous and putting the head under the sand simply because she didn't do couture extravaganza or pushed the fashion conversation like a Ghesquiere.

Can you name another design whom managed to revolutionize so much the merchandise department of a brand and release so many hits in terms of accessories and staple looks? Only she and Demna at Balenciaga in a 10 years time span...
Let's compare PPP tenure at Valentino with Maria Grazia, roughly same years' tenure, however PPP released only these hits:
- VLNT line (menswear, so it should not be included)
- Rockstud re-issue
- Loco bag
- Pink PP
- Roman stud bag
- Tan go platform pumps
Not even half of Maria Grazia's releases...and I'm not counting Maria Grazia's flop (at least those were efforts). Virginie's contribution to CHANEL during her 5 years tenure was: a garbage bag, CHANEL logo splattered everywhere, poor construction in both RTW and couture (the pajama looks from FW21 couture), hooligans collection in Manchester and a Metiers D'art show held in one of poorest Africa country...

 

[90sfan]

PPP is just as boring and bland. He'll ruin Balenciaga. I'm already bored. Yawn

 

[HigthaVandah]

Yet they sassed Hedi slimane by announcing ol boy 30 mins after hedis depature post.

I thought they handled those announcements well! Making the announcements back to back made it look like the suits had a plan. And, importantly for all involved, that Hedi was cooperative in transitioning out. Instead of storming out early to vaguepost on ig that Celine can't fire him because he quit, he agreed to do an extra season while he (and presumably Rider) finished negotiations, and the announcement was made several days after a high-effort and well-received final show.

From the outside it kinda felt like a limited-time collab between two brands had finished. Tbqh Hedi is probably way more hireable with an amicable conclusion like this on his CV.

 

[tourbillions]

I might be late but i saw some people saying that we underestimate her commercial success. This very false, if anything the praise for her has always been and it always stops at "it will sell like hotcakes".

The problem was just it was very boring and formulaic but definitely a big commercial success.