Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Christian Dior will announce Valentino’s Maria Grazia Chiuri as creative director after its couture show in July, reported BOF today. Chiuri’s appointment will mark the first woman in the creative director role in the company’s entire 70-year history, and she will fill a near nine-month vacancy after Raf Simons’ departure in October 2015. A source in Paris tells us Sarah Burton, creative force behind Alexander McQueen, was initially considered for the position, but declined.
Pierpaolo Piccioli and Chiuri have been design partners and joint creative directors at Valentino after Valentino Garavani retired in 2007, and since then they’ve helped the Italian house turn a major profit with their genius. While nothing has been confirmed about the reason for the move, sources in Paris say there’s been friction between Chiuri and Pierpaolo lately. Dior has yet to weigh in. Stay tuned…
