Will Maria Grazia Chiuri be Fendi's next creative director?

There were mysteries surrounding Maria Grazia Chiuri’s departure from the creative direction of Dior – widely reported as certain by major articles covering her last show in Rome, openly discussing its fundamental ambiguity: is it a farewell or not? Nobody knew – until today, when the designer and the Maison provided confirmation that ends months of speculation. During her nearly decade-long tenure at the pinnacle of French Haute Couture, Chiuri managed to boost sales significantly but also attracted some criticism for a perceived highly commercial approach. In April, the appointment of Jonathan Anderson as creative director of Dior Homme was announced – but without any announcement of Chiuri’s exit, even though it was assumed Anderson would take over all lines of the brand. Everyone assumed it was a matter of time: allowing the designer to organize a final show (most believed it was the one held this week in Rome) before announcing her departure, as it eventually happened. The reopening, after five years, of the Teatro della Cometa in Rome led many to think Chiuri would devote herself to culture for some time – but rumors (especially from Paris-based journalist Louis Pisano) speak both of a legal dispute between Chiuri and LVMH and of a likely entry of Chiuri into Fendi, given the presence of several personalities linked to the Roman brand at the latest Dior show in Italy. But what is true?

According to several bookmakers, especially BoringNotCom, which has been quite accurate in recent months, Chiuri could indeed be the ideal next candidate to replace or support Silvia Venturini Fendi: she would continue the brand’s long female tradition, already knows the Haute Couture mechanisms, and her past commercial results seem excellent for revitalizing a brand that may have been sidelined lately but celebrated its centenary this year. Furthermore, Chiuri’s first significant contribution to fashion was in 1997, precisely with Fendi since the designer worked alongside Silvia Venturini Fendi on creating the Baguette – one of the best-selling and most famous bags in history. A few years later, she and Pierpaolo Piccioli would move to Valentino, starting a continuously rising path that led both to dizzying career heights. From a commercial point of view, the move would make a lot of sense: beyond the relative coolness of the press, Chiuri is a powerhouse in her field, and her arrival seems (especially in tough times like these) capable of boosting entire brands’ fortunes. Considering the cooling luxury market, it makes little sense to lose such a powerful asset, if you will, like Chiuri. So much so that, in Il Foglio, internal sources say even Francesca Bellettini, the powerful director of Kering’s fashion brands, reportedly met with her. According to the same report, moreover, “Chiuri’s Paris office is empty: her assistants, says an internal source at Il Foglio, have finished packing hundreds of books and items accumulated since her appointment in 2016 and have sent them back to Rome.” The author of the article, Fabiana Giacomotti, nonetheless admits the situation is so unclear that predicting the outcome is very complex.

All this without forgetting that the brand is also awaiting a new CEO: Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou, appointed last year, moved to Dior last March as vice-CEO, and the next chief operating officer of Fendi must be named. Needless to say, new CEOs and creative directors often go hand in hand, and also, as reported in February by @fashioncricket, “Rachele Regini, Chiuri’s daughter and her artistic consultant at Dior for four years, would have been dismissed. This episode reinforces the hypothesis of not only a professional but also a familial break with LVMH” and that “the relationship with the group may have deteriorated, also due to the lack of a new creative role offered to Chiuri, despite her historic contribution.” Indeed, Chiuri involved her daughter in the Teatro della Cometa project as head of the theater’s scientific committee, and the mother-daughter collaboration could make sense if, in a possible negotiation, Chiuri managed to obtain not only a new position for herself but also for her daughter.

Added to this are rumors of alleged legal issues between Chiuri and LVMH – and on these, like with certain state secrets, the mystery will likely never be lifted. The most probable hypothesis, mentioned by several sources and still speculative, would involve a problem related to some exclusivity clause that the hurried (and, according to some, only partial) appointment of Jonathan Anderson at Dior would have violated. Probably, if this hypothesis is correct, negotiations about Chiuri’s future dragged on, risking widening the creative gap following Kim Jones’s departure and making it necessary to confirm Anderson immediately at least for the men’s line without mentioning the women’s line to avoid organizing a spring show in Paris without a designer. Her departure, announced today, seems to have closed the matter. But since this farewell signals some kind of resolution, a nomination at Fendi could be a win-win for everyone: for Chiuri, who could return to live in her city while also following Teatro della Cometa’s activities and continuing to work within LVMH; for LVMH, which could retain the talent, hand over Dior entirely to Jonathan Anderson, and revitalize a key brand all at once; and finally for Fendi itself, which, during this period of general reshuffling of hierarchies and the relevance of historic brands, could find renewed momentum with a creativity more incisive than that proposed so far by Kim Jones for womenswear.