LVMH on Tuesday named Maria Grazia Chiuri as the new creative officer for Fendi, succeeding Silvia Venturini Fendi, who stepped down from the role last month.
Chiuri, who earlier this year stepped down as womenswear artistic director at Christian Dior, worked for Fendi for most of the 1990s and had a role in developing the company’s famous Baguette bag. She will present her first collection for Autumn/Winter 2026 in February in Milan.
“Maria Grazia Chiuri is one of the greatest creative talents in fashion today, and I am delighted that she has chosen to return to Fendi to continue expressing her creativity within the LVMH group,” LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault said in a statement.
Chiuri joined Dior in 2016 from Valentino and transformed the brand’s image and product offering. While at the French fashion house, she led the creation of new successful bags – including the Book Tote and the Bobby Camera Bag – that reduced Dior’s dependence on the iconic and best-selling Lady Dior handbag. France awarded Chiuri the Légion d’honneur, the country’s highest honour in 2019.
While Dior has been hit particularly hard by the two-year fashion downturn that has engulfed most of the industry, the brand had grown rapidly previously under Chiuri’s creative direction. Sales quadrupled to €9 billion ($10.4 billion) in 2023 from €2.2 billion in 2017, HSBC has estimated.
Stay tuned to BoF for updates on this developing story.
