Maria Grazia Chiuri has been awarded France’s Legion d’Honneur

The ceremony took place at the same location not long after Dior’s Autumn/Winter 2019 Couture show – and was attended by a number of acclaimed industry profiles, spanning from Alber Elbaz, Valentino Garavani, a galore of international press and an intimate circle of Chiuri’s relatives. The designer received the honour by France’s gender equality minister, Marlène Schiappa, who praised Chiuri for thriving feminism and activism transversely in her creations.

When accepting the honour, Chiuri spoke directly to young women who might be worried about their career prospects and social integration: “I would like to send them a message to believe in themselves and follow their instincts. Dior is a Maison that represents femininity and for this reason I believe that my commitment is to make women aware of their potential, and I thank the Maison that supports me and gives a voice to women and their work. Their commitment can change the world” she remarked.

At the end of Dior’s Couture show, renowned writer Ngozi Adichie added a further-stated a note of encouragement to the designer, commenting – “I love her confidence.”