LVMH's Dior Recruits Miu Miu CEO as Managing Director

FILE PHOTO: A logo of fashion house Dior is seen outside a shop in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A logo of fashion house Dior is seen outside a shop in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo
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LVMH's Dior Recruits Miu Miu CEO as Managing Director

FILE PHOTO: A logo of fashion house Dior is seen outside a shop in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A logo of fashion house Dior is seen outside a shop in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo

Christian Dior Couture has recruited Benedetta Petruzzo, the CEO of Prada's fast growing Miu Miu label, as its managing director, the LVMH-owned brand said on Tuesday.
The move comes over a year and a half after Delphine Arnault, the eldest child of LVMH boss Bernard Arnault, took the helm at Dior and as it grapples with the fallout of a judicial probe in Italy into working conditions at subcontractors.
Petruzzo will be responsible for product teams at Dior, including supply chain teams, reporting to Delphine Arnault, LVMH said on LinkedIn. Her recruitment, effective Oct. 15, was first reported by trade publication WWD, according to Reuters.
Petruzzo replaces Charles Delapalme, a rising star at LVMH who has also held prominent positions at the group's Fendi and Louis Vuitton labels. "Important new responsibilities" for Delapalme will be announced at a later date, LVMH said.
Petruzzo, a former Bain consultant, worked at Kering's eyewear business for five years before joining Prada as general manager of Miu Miu in February 2020.
Prada has outshone luxury rivals during the recent downturn, including in China, where shoppers are pulling back on high end purchases amid a property crisis. It has seen soaring growth at Miu Miu, whose creative director is Miuccia Prada.
LVMH in July pledged to speed up its supply chain strategy and strengthen audits and controls while increasing control over production at Dior, LVMH's second largest label after Louis Vuitton, following the probe in Italy, made public in June.
That investigation prompted Italy's competition authority to look into whether fashion labels Armani and Dior had misled consumers, while Europe's top asset manager Amundi and other investors asked LVMH to take stronger steps to monitor its suppliers' treatment of workers.
All five of Bernard Arnault's children hold important management positions in the sprawling luxury empire.



Milan Fashion Week Opens with Light, Ethereal Yet Grounded Looks from Fendi, Ferretti and Marni 

A model walks the runway during the Fendi collection show at Milan's Fashion Week Womenswear Spring / Summer 2025, on September 17, 2024 in Milan. (AFP)
A model walks the runway during the Fendi collection show at Milan's Fashion Week Womenswear Spring / Summer 2025, on September 17, 2024 in Milan. (AFP)
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Milan Fashion Week Opens with Light, Ethereal Yet Grounded Looks from Fendi, Ferretti and Marni 

A model walks the runway during the Fendi collection show at Milan's Fashion Week Womenswear Spring / Summer 2025, on September 17, 2024 in Milan. (AFP)
A model walks the runway during the Fendi collection show at Milan's Fashion Week Womenswear Spring / Summer 2025, on September 17, 2024 in Milan. (AFP)

Just as the northern hemisphere starts the wardrobe transition from summer to fall, runway shows in the world’s fashion capitals seek to stir the imagination, and desire, for the next warm weather season.

Milan designers have been ambiguous about seasons in recent fashion weeks, with summer collections not corresponding to the soaring temperatures. That was not the case during the first day of Milan Fashion Week previews on Tuesday, featuring diaphanous, dreamy summery dresses, alongside crisp cotton.

Here are highlights from the first day of Milan Fashion Week of runway previews of mostly womenswear for Spring-Summer 2025:

Fendi centenary

Fendi honored its upcoming centenary with a Spring-Summer 2025 collection that paid elegant homage to the founding era, from art deco detailing to a flapper silhouette, light on the fringe.

In snippets of conversation that punctuated the show’s soundtrack, Silvia Venturini Fendi emphasized the matriarchal lineage that has made her the third generation to play a key Fendi role. “My mother was the energy of the house,” Venturini Fendi recalled.

The collection by Fendi womenswear artistic director Kim Jones sought to spotlight “100 years of very chic Roman women,” combining ready-to-wear with artisanal detailing of couture. Diaphanous dresses with art-deco embroidery were grounded with boots. Slip dresses were turned upside down as skirts, worn with a sheer top embellished with crystals. Knitwear defined the silhouette, under sheers or hugging the body over diaphanous trousers.

Bags by Venturini Fendi, artistic director of accessories, were soft and huggable, often carried in triplicate.

Ferretti’s artisanal summer

Alberta Ferretti showed her summery creations in the courtyard of a former cloister, now a science museum, with an elegant dome rising in the background, the juxtaposition emphasizing the artisanal heritage in her collection.

Instead of embellishments, Ferretti focused on technique. Laser cut cotton created an almost lace effect. Individual cotton leaves were stitched together as dresses or accents on bodices. Pleating elevated dresses, while boxer shorts gave a casual flair.

The day looks were in earthy tones of sand, ecru and black. For evening, chiffon dresses flowed in bright shades.

“They are real summer clothes, because the world in the summer is very warm. I know a show is supposed to be a show but reality is important,” Ferretti said backstage.

Marni’s essential beauty

Marni maintained its zany heritage under creative director Francesco Risso, with a wardrobe of whimsically tailored everyday looks for him and for her.

The female silhouette was swathed in form-fitting dresses and skirts, often with deep back slits, sometimes with a mermaid flair. Feathers, boas and crystal embellishments were pretty, and sometimes off-beat accents.

For him, broad shouldered jackets contrasted with skinny trousers. An off-skew bow on a chiffony blouson was kept aloft through some sartorial trickery.

Mixing art with fashion, models emerged in threes, and wandered through the showroom full of wooden chairs on conversational groups to a percussive piano trio.

A sense of Marni whimsy permeated the collection, partly but not only through a series of hats with a yesteryear military flair made light with feathery accents. Risso appeared to confirm his Napoleonic intentions, taking a bow with his hand thrust inside his jacket.

“We like things that are bold,” Risso said after the show.