Maria Grazia Chiuri

[1] Chiuri's father was in the military and her mother, a dressmaker, joined a sewing workshop at a young age before opening her own boutique in Rome, but pushed her daughter to study.

In 2008, when Valentino Garavani retired, Chiuri was promoted within the Italian company to become artistic co-director of the brand, alongside Pier Paolo Piccioli, whom she had known since her studies at the Istituto Europeo di Design.

Chiuri and Piccioli were named co-creative directors of Valentino in 2008, overseeing full artistic direction for the brand, including Womenswear, Menswear & Haute Couture.

"[7] The Irish Times remarked: "As artistic director of the storied Paris fashion house, Ms Chiuri will follow in the footsteps of designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Gianfranco Ferré and John Galliano.

[14][15] Chiuri would continue this theme in subsequent shows, including a reference to Linda Nochlin's essay Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?

[17] In September 2016, the slogan "We should all be feminist",[18] a phrase by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, was printed on white t-shirts of two models at the Dior show at Paris Fashion Week for the Spring 2017 collection.

[19] In January 2020, during a Dior fashion show, staged in the garden of the Rodin Museum, the catwalk was lined with 21 banners, on which were embroidered feminist phrases, such as "Could men and women be equal?".