Dior Officially Announces Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Exit After Nine Years at Its Helm

Maria Grazia Chiuri took her final bow at Dior’s cruise 2026 on Tuesday, and just like that, Dior’s feminist, boundary-breaking chapter comes to a close. The official announcement, released early this morning, comes after months of swirling rumors and speculation.

Chiuri, who has been creative director of Dior’s women’s haute couture, ready-to-wear, and accessories collections since 2016, debuted her first collection for the Spring 2017 season. That season, models sauntered down the runway wearing graphic tees that read “We should all be feminists.”

The collection set the tone for Chiuri’s vision at Dior and the core values she would bring to the Maison. Her collections consistently centered around themes of feminism and female empowerment.

Still, she managed to explore Dior’s most storied House codes, paying homage to Monsieur Dior and the creative directors who came after him. In 2018, she spearheaded the then-unprecedented relaunch of the Dior Saddle bag, direct from the John Galliano era.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Chiuri fondly recalled her time at Dior and expressed her deepest gratitude for her team and their impact on women’s fashion. Her departure marks another loss for the industry, which has historically been ruled by white men.

Dior’s Next Chapter

Under Chiuri’s reign, Dior saw incredible commercial success, including growth within its couture division. It’s estimated that sales saw a massive boom from 2017 to 2023, increasing from €2.2 billion to €9 billion, BoF reported.

The news of Chiuri’s departure from the Maison follows Jonathan Anderson’s appointment as creative director of Dior Homme. Anderson, who will make his menswear debut next month during Paris Fashion Week men’s, was widely speculated to succeed Chiuri, with his appointment officially confirmed early this morning.

Anderson will now oversee womenswear in addition to Dior Homme, with the title of Creative Director of women’s, men’s, and haute couture collections of the House. This marks the first time since Mr. Dior himself that a sole Creative Director has worked on the entirety of the Maison.