Anticipated for months, the departure of Italian Maria Grazia Chiuri, director of Dior's women's collections, was announced by LVMH's flagship brand in an official statement.
Appointed in 2016, she was the first woman to hold the position of creative director at the Parisian fashion house.
In its announcement, Dior expressed its "most sincere gratitude" to Khouri after a "great collaboration", clarifying that she herself had wished to leave her post, AFP reported.
"I am particularly grateful for the work done by my teams and by the ateliers. Together, we have created a landmark chapter of which I am immensely proud," Maria Grazia Kyuri was quoted as saying.
After the extravagant and provocative John Galliano and the acclaimed but short-lived Raf Simmons, the 61-year-old designer has managed in 9 years to impose her vision of the Dior woman, in particular through a more "wearable" and "comfortable" style and collaborations with feminist artists.
Having just left Valentino, the designer caused a sensation by presenting at her first show in October 2016 a plain white T-shirt with the words "We should all be feminists" in black lettering, a phrase borrowed from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
In her hometown of Rome, she presented her latest "cruise" collection during a fashion show in the gardens of Villa Albani, an 18th-century neoclassical palace.
This spectacular event, inspired by the 1930 "Bal Blanc" in Paris and organized by Mimi Pechy-Blancte, ended to thunderous applause.
The name of her successor was not officially announced, although Jonathan Anderson has been rumored for several months. Appointed head of Dior Homme in April, replacing Kim Jones, the Northern Irish designer will become the first fashion designer to lead both the Parisian fashion house's men's and women's collections. | BGNES