Who was the first female creative director of Dior, appointed in 2016?

Maria Grazia Chiuri became Dior’s first female creative director in 2016. She was appointed artistic director of the house’s women’s haute couture and ready-to-wear collections after Raf Simons’s departure.

Chiuri had already built a major reputation at Valentino, where she worked with Pierpaolo Piccioli and served as co-creative director. Her appointment marked a significant moment for Dior, a house founded by a male designer in 1946 and led by men throughout most of its history.

She presented her first Dior collection in Paris in September 2016. The show emphasized feminist ideas, including a T-shirt referencing Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay “We Should All Be Feminists.” Chiuri’s Dior work frequently connected fashion with women’s history, artists and social themes.

The title can cause confusion because “creative director” may refer to a particular division. Chiuri led Dior’s women’s collections; Dior’s menswear and other activities had separate creative leadership.