“Less I, more us” was written on the floor of the showspace at Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Fendi debut on Wednesday afternoon in Milan. The motto refers to the Roman designer’s return to the house, where she spent 10 years between 1988 and 1999 under the guidance of the five Fendi sisters. She is now one of the few women at the helm of a major luxury brand.
“I wanted to pay homage to the heritage of the brand. The five sisters were a big school for me, and for all designers,” Chiuri said backstage post-show.
“Today, we celebrated the beginning of a new chapter in our history,” added Fendi chairman and chief executive officer Ramon Ros after the show. “Maria Grazia Chiuri’s vision for Fendi FW26 shows her innovative yet grounded approach and highlights our unparalleled savoir faire, authentic craftsmanship, and a commitment to excellence.”
The co-ed collection, designed by the women’s and men’s design teams, featured many of Chiuri’s codes, recognizable from her time at Dior. Those included long ballet skirts, plenty of black lace, and laser-cut leather, albeit with a sexier Roman edge, brought by black fur or leather shirt collars (without the shirt).
Fendi had been without a dedicated womenswear creative director since Kim Jones stepped down in October 2024. Jones succeeded longtime creative director Karl Lagerfeld, following Lagerfeld’s 54-year tenure as creative director. Fendi scion Silvia Venturini Fendi — menswear designer of the house since 1994 — took on womenswear collections for the brand’s centenary year in 2025. And now, Grazia Chiuri is tasked with reinvigorating the house to boost relevance for a new generation.
Chiuri joined Fendi from LVMH stablemate Dior, where she served as the house’s first woman creative director from 2016 to 2025, driving major commercial success for the label. During her tenure, she roughly quadrupled Dior’s revenues, from €2.2 billion in 2017 to €9 billion in 2024, according to LVMH earnings. Prior to this, she was co-creative director of Valentino (1999–2016) with current Balenciaga creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli.
The collection felt more muted than the two collections designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi for the brand’s centenary last year. And when a chain of 17 black looks opened the show, it felt like a sea change for the brand, which, in its 101-year history, has become known for bold color combinations, patterns, and monograms, particularly under Lagerfeld. But for Chiuri, it was about defining the shape and cut. “It is important to define the silhouette of Fendi. And really, that is the silhouette of the coat. The coat, the jacket. That is my job,” Chiuri told my colleague Luke Leitch ahead of the show.
“The role of a creative director is no longer to simply design beautiful clothes but to curate a culture and hold a mirror to the world we live in,” said Ros in a statement following Chiuri’s appointment, likely referring to her feminist ethos during her tenure at Dior. “Her talent and vision will be instrumental in fortifying Fendi’s heritage, shaping the future talent in the house, and deepening our commitment to Italian craftsmanship.”
Despite her commercial success, Chiuri has been met with mixed reviews throughout her career, which, as she explained to Leitch, probably wouldn’t happen to a male designer who’d sold so many clothes. So it felt fitting that the final song of the soundtrack (which Shazam could not identify) featured the refrain “say what you want”.
“Everybody started to speak about fashion. Because fashion became more popular, there were not only journalists and people who know about fashion speaking about fashion. The impact of all these voices was very strong, but not all the time positive. I think part of it became an entertainment. But in the end, it [fashion] is not that,” Chiuri said in the preview.
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After she took her final bow, a cacophony of loud music continued playing throughout the show space, making chatter pretty difficult. But we managed to grab several industry insiders to share their first reactions.
Tiffany Hsu, chief buying group fashion venture officer, Mytheresa
Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut at Fendi felt like a confident and articulate opening statement, quintessentially hers, yet deeply respectful of the house’s Roman heritage. The collection carried her signature elegance and intellectual femininity, subtly sharpened with a punk-inflected edge, while the extraordinary craftsmanship of the Fendi atelier ensured a seamless and compelling dialogue between legacy and evolution.
For the global luxury client, the collection offers a reassuring sense of continuity while introducing a refreshed emotional energy. Her established following from Dior will undoubtedly recognize her codes and feel compelled by this new chapter, particularly in the US market, where her aesthetic has historically performed strongly. More broadly, the balance between refined tailoring and subtle subversion speaks to a customer seeking pieces that feel both timeless and culturally attuned.
The interplay between sharply structured outerwear and delicately constructed dresses was particularly striking, encapsulating the tension that defines her creative language.
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Francesca Ragazzi, head of editorial content, Vogue Italia
I loved the lightness, the softness, and the new take on the accessories, and I’ve never seen the Fendi girl look so rock‘n’roll. I loved the white collar tribute to Karl Lagerfeld and the touch of fandom in the upcycled fur scarves for the five Fendi sisters. This scarf was by Sagg Napoli, an artist I really admire because she looks at the nature of characters and personalities, deconstructing stereotypes.
Simon Longland, director of buying, fashion, Harrods
It is compelling to see the Fendi men’s and women’s collections unified as a coherent whole under a single, unwavering vision. By committing to a disciplined palette of black and ivory, interrupted only by a singular red dress and utilitarian flashes of khaki, the house has successfully pivoted the focus towards the tactile mastery of texture, embellishment, and fabrication. For Harrods, the standout opportunities are found in the lace, leather, and intricate embroidery across dresses and separates; these pieces perfectly capture the intersection of heritage craftsmanship and contemporary sophistication that our clients demand.
Edward Buchanan, designer and journalist
Well, there were no surprises for me, but I can say the quality was omnipresent. You saw it all the way through, from the fine details, the laser-cut leather, the fur, high quality. And also, I think the Maria Grazia codes were there in terms of design – you saw the messaging, you saw the sensuality, and the respect for women. I thought that there were some beautiful clothes there, but I think I walked out without an idea of what her Fendi is.
Caroline Issa, editor-in-chief, Tank
I think that was the most hotly anticipated Milan debut. I was pleasantly surprised because it felt like a real palate cleanser, with most of the looks starting in black. I loved that you could still see a lot of Maria Grazia; she comes from Fendi, so there were Fendi touches in the way she used the bag she designed [the Baguette], alongside those elements that are very Maria Grazia yet distinctly Fendi. It felt incredibly commercial — who doesn’t want a great black suit? She gave us many black suits.
I’m excited. This feels like a strong first stake in the ground and a little sexier than what she has done previously. Those colors were very sexy, a little naughty — a Roman naughtiness. I’m excited to see what comes next, but I thought it was a great first collection.
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Jess Cartner-Morley, fashion editor, The Guardian
I thought it was great, really strong. I thought it was really interesting that she updated it and pulled it out of, kind of, socialite fashion into something very workday, modern-coded, with black-and-white collars instead of necklaces. But then I really loved what she did with all those vintage fur pieces, which have a real kind of sensuality you associate with Fendi. And I love the five sisters football scarf. It’s great to have her back.
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