The China Mail - Dior's Chiuri creates elemental show for what could be her last

Chiuri was inscrutable at the end of the 25-minute mega show in the Tuileries Gardens, briefly acknowledging applause from a crowd that was relatively low on A-list celebrities compared to usual.

Split into several distinct parts featuring the elements, the live streamed spectacle featured models in muted tones of black, beige, slate grey and green in 1980s-inflected designs for the Fall/Winter 2025 season.

Chiuri's collection included trench coats, a variety of embroidered white and cream blouses, high leather boots and long dresses featuring fake fur, as well as the lace and sheer materials that have dominated catwalks in recent seasons.

Her future remains a source of major speculation in the fashion industry with persistent rumours that she is on the way out.

Dior has boomed under her nine-year stewardship, becoming the second-biggest brand in the stable of luxury labels owned by French powerhouse LVMH.

But some observers have suggested the classic French house is growing stale and is ripe for a shake-up, with its growth of crucial financial and dynastic importance to LVMH owner Bernard Arnault.

He placed his daughter Delphine in charge of the brand in February 2023.

Chiuri, who in 2016 was the first woman to be named Dior's creative director after a career at Italian brands Valentino and Fendi, has refused to comment on rumours about her future.

Speaking to Grazia magazine last month, she mused on how the fashion business had changed over her 40-year career.

"Fashion used to be about family companies and there were small audiences -– clients and buyers," she said. "Now fashion is like a channel. It's something more popular, it's like pop. It's a form of media."

Dior parted ways with its long-time artistic director for menswear, Kim Jones, at the end of January.

- Designer debuts -

More than 100 fashion houses are set to unveil their Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collections during Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, hoping to rally sales in what is an increasingly difficult global luxury market.

Among the most anticipated moments will be Sarah Burton's debut at Givenchy on Friday.

Burton, a 51-year-old Briton who made her name as creative director at Alexander McQueen, was appointed to Givenchy in September.

Her nomination was one of a number of recent changes at major brands, with Belgian veteran Dries Van Noten stepping down from his namesake label last year and handing the reins to fellow countryman Julian Klausner, 33.

Klausner's first collection on Wednesday in Paris will also be closely scrutinised.

The French Haute Couture and Fashion Federation has also pulled off a feat by attracting Tom Ford, a mainstay of New York Fashion Week, to Paris for the first time.

Chief designer Haider Ackermann, in the top job at the label since September, will be making his catwalk debut.

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