Fashion embraces the girls boss

It's been about two weeks since the announcement of Maria Grazia Chiuri as artistic director of women's haute couture, ready to wear and accessory collections at Dior.
The news came as no surprise, since the rumour mill had been predicting the move for a few weeks. Since the announcement, in almost every interview, Sidney Toledano, the long-time CEO of the French fashion house, has spoken about how this move will make the brand more women-friendly because, for the first time, a woman will head the brand. Dior is, of course, the jewel in the crown of the LVMH group.
From Mar-lene Dietrich to Natalie Portman, it has always been a favourite with women of style. With previous creative heads of the house being Yves Saint Laurent, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano and, most recently, Raf Simons, it has a heritage that is all about the meeting of art and commerce. Christian Dior himself was an art gallery owner before he became a fashion designer.
Though he set up his fashion house in 1946, it is the next year - when he showed his first collection - that is re-ally seen as the start of this French cou-ture house. The collection was called the 'New Look', thanks to longer, circular full skirts, with cinched in waists. After the rations of the war, these outfits seemed extravagant - feminine yet ultra modern. Dior was also among the first European designers to embrace the American mar-ket and to look at licensing. He under-stood the business of fashion, as much as he did the craft of it.
He was known for his 'joie de vivre', which was very much a part of his de-sign philosophy. And the appointment of 52-year-old Chiuri is seen as a sign of a return to romantic feminism at the house. Dior's last artistic director, Raf Simons, had very much kept the romantic heritage of the brand in check, focusing instead on other aspects from the brand's rich and beautiful archives. While it did receive positive critical feedback and also helped revenues rise, the job was not for him and he resigned after just three-and-a-half years in the role.The post of artistic director will be Chiuri's first solo appointment, after more than two decades of working with design partner Pierpaolo Piccioli.
The duo took over the helms of Valentino, a few years after the designer himself stepped down. In the immediate years following Valenti-no's departure, the brand struggled and it was not until this duo was appointed creative co-directors that it staged a come-back. Chiuri and Piccioli were, at that point, heading accessory design at Valentino and also looking after its diffusion line, RED. They've since taken Valentino into a new era, staying true to its roman-tic roots yet making it youthful and ultra au courant.
In fact, last year, Valentino revenues were in excess of $1 billion, an all-time high. The duo had managed to combine critical success with commerce - the magic formula that every fashion house is looking for. And since Simons left Dior, the brand's last two outings on the ramp (Cruise and Couture) too have lacked the style punch we've come to expect from this French fashion house.While some are unsure how Chiuri will manage on her own, with her first collection for Dior hitting the runway in September at the ready-to-wear shows in Paris, she is probably powering away at being a solo creative head of a fashion house already. Her appointment comes a few months after another female de-signer, Bouchra Jarrar, became artistic director at Lanvin.
She took over from one of fashion's most-loved designers, Alber Elbaz. The latter may have revived this once almost-dead fashion house, but of late, seen the revenues of the brand be-ginning to slip - prompting the owners to bring in Jarrar. The question of a woman is interesting - Sarah Burton took over from Alexander McQueen in 2010, years after McQueen's untimely demise. And the British brand has never had more commercial and critical success. Celine too has flourished under the creative direction of Phoebe Philo. It is strange that an industry tailored to women has been ruled by men for so long.
As a fashion consumer, I know that I now own more McQueen and Celine - and haven't bought anything Dior in a few years, despite appreciating the brand's style. Perhaps Chiuri will change this, and also start the trend of the much-needed #girlboss in the fashion industry.
sujata@khaleejtimes.com 

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