Growing up in her native Italy, Maria Grazia Chiuri was surrounded by great art from antiquity onward, but rarely did female artists get the spotlight, save for a memorable exhibition in Rome dedicated to Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.
Today, as Dior‘s artistic director of women’s haute couture, ready-to-wear and accessories collections, Chiuri collaborates with female artists as naturally as she breathes, leveraging her platform at one of France’s most emblematic fashion houses.
As the 2023 recipient of the John B. Fairchild Honor, recognizing a career of influence and distinction in the fashion industry, Chiuri sat down with WWD Paris bureau chief Joelle Diderich to discuss her career and her collaborative approach.
Asked about the biggest change she’s witnessed during her seven years at Dior, Chiuri cited the advent of social media, the sped-up pace of the industry, mounting concerns about fashion’s impact on the environment, especially during the pandemic, and heightened awareness of cultural appropriation.
“I really believe in this industry and I think that it is possible to work on it and also to address these criticisms and to try to do our best,” she said on stage ahead of the WWD Honors gala dinner. “There is a part of this industry that is very important — for the communities that work in fashion, and but also for the people that use fashion. Sometimes we think that fashion is only the brand, but fashion speaks about humanity, our relationship with clothes, how we express ourselves. Also clothes and craft are also part of our identity.”
Asked why she sticks her neck out so often, and never shies away from any difficult conversation about her feminist stance, Chiuri suggested it is her duty.
“I think it’s important to speak about these elements with other women. I really believe that it’s important to work with the community, and this is the part that interests me, too, to have conversations with people from different parts of the world,” she explained. “This dialogue helps to have an idea also about femininity or feminism that is more multifaceted, more pluralistic.
“I think it’s important to have a dialogue with other actors, other women and to create a community that can work together to build an idea of women for the future,” she added.
Asked about where inspiration comes from for her many shows and collections, the designer said it could be a book or an exhibition, noting she frequents many of them in Paris, Rome and when she travels around the world.
“I also really like to work with the archive, too. Sometimes inspiration can come from the incredible life of Monsieur Dior because we should not forget he was a gallerist before he became a designer,” she said. “At the same time, I have this fantastic studio and cultural office that support me in this big research.”
Chiuri also enjoys collaborating, calling on a variety of creative women to animate her shows via the decor or performances. These have included visual artists Mickalene Thomas, Joana Vasconcelos and Judy Chicago, and choreographer Sharon Eyal.
Consequently, Chiuri creates extremely dense mood boards for each collection containing archival elements, academic texts, imagery and various cultural references. Is she worried her complex messages might get lost, since so much of fashion is consumed via short clips on smartphone screens?
“It’s difficult to explain our process and everything that goes into the 10 minutes of a fashion show,” she allowed. “But I really love to work with a creative community, involving many different people coming together for the project. The Dior teams help me to explain to the journalists what is behind the show.
“In the end, not everybody understands every single element that went into it. But I think people can perceive the difference — the honesty, the love and the passion that there is behind each show.”
Chiuri is known to return to the same creatives, rather than pursuing one-shot collaborations.
“My idea is to create a community of artists that can work together for a long time,” she said. “Also, for the campaigns, I often use Brigitte Niedermair, a photographer I really like. I think it’s important to have a conversation, and to explore each collection in different ways.”
Chiuri uses her shows as a platform to discuss female representation, with her spring 2024 ready-to-wear show displaying videos by Italian artist Elena Bellantoni that subverted advertising imagery to challenge the male gaze, via feminist slogans writ large around the runway venue.
One of the first things she did when she joined Dior in 2016 was to conscript only female photographers for all campaigns, starting with Brigitte Lacombe for her debut spring 2017 collection.
“I remember someone suggested that there wouldn’t be enough women photographers,” she recalled. “It’s not true. We just realized an incredible book with all the women photographers that shoot for Dior, I think we have to give a consistent opportunity. This is very important because the female gaze is completely different from the male gaze.…Their point of view is different.
“I immediately understood that Dior is an unbelievable platform, and I wanted to share this incredible platform with other artists who can use their voice, so we can give an image of women that is more faceted.”
Chiuri has also used Dior to exalt craftspeople from all over the world, elevating their work by showcasing it on her runway. For her pre-fall 2023 show in Mumbai, she exhibited the skills of the local Chanakya School of Craft.
The finale of the Dior pre-fall 2023 show at the Gateway of India on March 30.
Thomas Chéné/Courtesy of Dior
“This aspect is very important for me. And probably I’m so sensitive on this argument because I’m Italian,” she said. “It’s impossible for women artists there. And at the same time, many kinds of craft were very present in different regions of Italy, often done by women at home, so really domestic, never celebrated.”
Chiuri noted that when ready-to-wear become prominent in Italy in the ’70s, the emphasis was on shape and silhouette, and not decorative elements like embroidery.
“Also in India, embroidery is part of their identity. In each different state of India, there are different techniques. And there was a moment where there was a risk of losing this heritage because it was seen as something from the past.”
The designer noted that many people in Western Europe think designers go to India for embroideries because it’s less expensive, “not because there is a really great tradition. Some companies are producing work on par with couture in Europe.”
By staging a Dior show in Mumbai, she wanted to “show how much India is a big player in the fashion industry, and at a high level.”
Asked if she feels like she’s helped in some way to advance the cause of women, Chiuri framed her answer in a broader context.
“Dior is close to the idea of femininity,” she said. “My idea about femininity means creativity and it’s close to this idea of feminism. I don’t think it’s far from the idea of Mr. Dior, who was all the time surrounded by women. I read very closely his book, ‘Dior and I,’ and he spoke about women all the time.”
The designer noted that photographers in the ’50s were more interested “to celebrate the silhouette, the sculptural element of Dior, and less the idea of Mr. Dior and his relationship with women.”