Most creative director appointments are strategic. This one is biographical.
Maria Grazia Chiuri began her career at Fendi in 1989, in the accessories department, in a Roman house that was then still known primarily for handbags and fur. She left, went to Valentino, then spent close to a decade at Dior making some of the most commercially significant and most argued about womenswear of the 2010s. In October 2025, five months after her Dior exit, Fendi named her chief creative officer, succeeding Silvia Venturini Fendi, who moved to honorary president.
She is, in other words, running the house she started in, in the city she was born in, a hundred years after it was founded. There is no version of that which is purely a business decision.
The debut, and the argument it started
Chiuri showed her first Fendi ready to wear collection at Milan Fashion Week in February 2026, at the newly renovated Spazio Fendi. The opening look was entirely black, a loose knee length shirtdress worn with a blazer, sheer socks and pointed heels. Colour was largely absent across the collection. Tailoring was soft rather than structured. Coats skimmed rather than held.
The trade response was warm. The collection was read as a refined evolution rather than a reinvention, with critics noting the restraint, the material intelligence and the emphasis on elevated everyday dressing over spectacle. Chiuri framed it around the phrase less I, more us, positioning the collection as a collective effort of the ateliers rather than an authorial statement.
The forum and online response was considerably harsher. The recurring complaints were that the collection was too safe, too austere and too recognisably Chiuri rather than recognisably Fendi, and that the absence of colour stripped out the Roman glamour the house is known for.
Both readings contain something true, which is what makes this handover interesting rather than simply divisive.
The couture answer
If the ready to wear debut was cautious, the couture was not.
Chiuri showed her first Fendi haute couture collection in July 2026 in Rome, at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, staged alongside a recreation of the 1985 Fendi exhibition originally conceived by Karl Lagerfeld. The choice of venue and of reference was pointed. It placed her inside the house's own history rather than beside it.
The collection itself worked in a quieter register than couture usually permits. Black dominated. Lace ran throughout, used as structure rather than as decoration. Fur was treated until it behaved like feathers, leather was inlaid graphically across chiffon, and tulle provided both transparency and support. Chiuri described the ateliers as places of dialogue and had the couture, fur, leather and textile specialists work across disciplines rather than within their own.
That last detail is the most revealing thing about her Fendi so far. It is a house that has always been defined by material rather than by silhouette, and she has organised her creative process around exactly that.
Chiuri at Dior versus Chiuri at Fendi
| Element | Dior, 2016 to 2025 | Fendi, 2026 onward |
|---|---|---|
| Core language | Explicit messaging, slogans, feminist framing | Material, craft, collective authorship |
| Palette | Broad, with strong use of colour and print | Black dominant, neutrals, restrained |
| Signature material | Tulle, embroidery, printed silk | Lace as structure, worked fur, intarsia leather |
| Silhouette | Romantic, often historical in reference | Soft tailoring, fluid coats, elevated daywear |
| Relationship to the house | An outsider reinterpreting a French archive | An insider returning to a Roman one |
| Reception | Divisive critically, enormous commercially | Divisive critically, commercially unproven |
The pattern that emerges is not a designer changing her language. It is a designer removing the parts of it that belonged to Dior and keeping the parts that were always hers, namely lace, an understanding of how real women actually get dressed, and a preference for wearability over spectacle.
What it means for the Baguette, and for buying Fendi now
The Baguette remains the commercial centre of Fendi and took a leading role in the fall 2026 collection. Nothing in Chiuri's first year suggests any intention to displace it, which is the correct decision. A house celebrating its centenary does not retire its most recognisable object.
For buyers, three practical points follow.
House icons are safe
The Baguette, the Peekaboo and the Fendi First are pillars rather than designer signatures, and creative handovers historically have very little effect on their resale performance.
The quiet luxury direction favours the classics
A creative direction built on restraint and material rather than on logo means the pieces being made now will age more gracefully than the heavily branded output of the late 2010s.
Watch the Venturini Fendi archive
Pieces strongly associated with the previous creative era occasionally become more interesting on the secondary market once a handover settles, particularly the accessories.
Why this handover matters beyond Fendi
There is a wider pattern here. Fendi has joined the group of European houses uniting all categories under a single designer for coherence, and the industry has spent 2026 watching nearly fifteen houses introduce new creative leaders. In a market where the number of active luxury consumers has contracted sharply since 2022 and spending has shifted toward experiences and resale, houses are betting that a clear singular creative voice is the most efficient way to restore desirability.
Chiuri's appointment is the most legible version of that bet, because it comes with a story attached. Whether the story sells clothes is a different question, and one the next two seasons will answer.
Frequently asked questions
When did Maria Grazia Chiuri join Fendi?
She was announced as chief creative officer in October 2025, five months after leaving Dior. She had previously worked at Fendi from 1989, which makes the appointment a return rather than an arrival.
Who did she replace?
Silvia Venturini Fendi, who became honorary president of the house. Venturini Fendi is the granddaughter of the founders and the designer credited with creating the Baguette.
When was her first Fendi collection shown?
Her first ready to wear collection showed at Milan Fashion Week in February 2026. Her first haute couture collection for the house followed in Rome in July 2026.
Was her debut well received?
It divided opinion sharply. Trade press praised the restraint and the craftsmanship. A significant portion of the online audience found it too austere and too close to her Dior work. The couture collection in July was received considerably more warmly.
Does a new creative director affect the value of a Fendi bag I already own?
For house icons such as the Baguette or the Peekaboo, very little. Resale on those styles is driven by condition, colour and material rather than by who currently leads the house.
The Velvet verdict
Chiuri's Fendi is not trying to be loud, and in 2026 that is a defensible strategy rather than a failure of nerve. The risk is not that the clothes are too quiet. It is that a house built on Roman exuberance and worked material could end up sounding like a designer rather than like itself. The couture suggests she knows exactly where that line sits.