Maria Chuiri Grazia has been confirmed as Dior's new creative director, making her the first ever woman to helm the historic brand.
Chuiri was formerly at Valentino where she served as co creative director with her long-term design partner, Pierpaolo Piccoli. She replaces Raf Simons who left the house in October last year.
It makes sense for the brand which has such a strong feminine aesthetic to finally hire a woman to oversee its design vision. It's an idea echoed by Dior's chief executive, Sidney Toledano.
"When you listen to a woman talk about a woman, whether it is her body or her lifestyle - her work, the way she travels, what she needs - it is not conceptual," Mr. Toledano said. "It is practical. Maria Grazia is very practical: very straightforward, very clear, and she has no fear. She has a family and a real life. She does things."
Chuiri will be responsible for the two couture collections, two ready-to-wear collections, one cruise, one pre-collection, shoes, bags, costume jewelry and eyewear, as having creative input into ad campaigns and store design. Kris Van Asshe will continue to design menswear.
Apparently, Chuiri met Toledano 20 years ago when he was looking for someone to help John Galliano with bags. At the time, she had just joined Valentino as an accessory designer and told Toledano - a huge industry player - that she'd hold out until the big Dior design job came along. And biding her time sure paid off.
"She said to me: 'I'm not going to come for just bags. I want the global job,'" Mr. Toledano said, though he would not say when the talks were revived. "Well, now she has it all."
Rumours have been swirling for months, but it looks as if Maria Grazia Chiuri's new appointment at Dior is a done deal.
Valentino has confirmed that the designer is leaving the brand and an announcement from Dior revealing her as its new creative director is expected shortly.
"After 25 years of creative partnership and of professional satisfactions we gave ourselves the opportunity of continuing our artistic paths in an individual way with the reciprocal desire of further great achievements," Chiuri and her design partner, Pierpaolo Piccioli, said in a joint statement. Piccioli will not lead Valentino solo.
Yesterday, she and Piccioli showed their latest Valentino couture show - which took journalists on a journey through Medieval history. Think ruffs, taffeta cloaks and orpulent gowns. Guests offered a standing ovation as the final look hit the catwalk.
If the rumours are true, Chiuri will be the first female creative director at Dior. She would replace Raf Simons, who stepped down from the role in October.
'Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams' opens at the V&A in February.
Raf Simons has stepped down from his position as Dior creative director, after three and a half years in the role due to "personal reasons".
Although rumours had been circulating of his exit for weeks, the news still comes as a surprise. Simons was widely celebrated for having made Dior an accessible brand once again, bringing a sense of modernity to the heritage brand following the dismissal of John Galliano in 2011.
His collections were widely applauded by the fashion press, who appreciated his romantic, yet relatively understated aesthetic. While in the role, Simons also made Rihanna the fashion house's first black campaign star.
"It is after careful and long consideration that I have decided to leave my position as creative director of Christian Dior Couture Women's collection," said Simons in a statement.
"It is a decision based entirely and equally on my desire to focus on other interests in my life, including my own brand, and the passions that drive me outside of my work. Christian Dior is an extraordinary company, and it has been an immense privilege to be allowed to write a few pages of this magnificent book."
His exit leaves one of the most desirable jobs in fashion empty. Whatever happens next will mark a new and interesting chapter in the story of Christian Dior.