Creative director Chiuri leaves Dior, Anderson tipped for wider role

PARIS (Reuters) -Maria Grazia Chiuri has left her job as creative director of Dior women's collections, the luxury fashion brand owned by LVMH said on Thursday, with Dior menswear designer Jonathan Anderson widely tipped to take a bigger role.

Chiuri's departure marks the latest change in a big reshuffle of creative directors at top luxury brands.

The industry is grappling with a slowdown in demand and the fashion and leather goods division of LVMH, which includes other brands like Louis Vuitton and Fendi, posted a 5% fall in sales in the first quarter.

Anderson, who left LVMH's smaller label Loewe in March, is one of a new generation of designers taking over some of the world's biggest fashion labels. He is due to create a June collection for Dior Men's Fashion, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault said last month.

"We think the departure clears the path for Jonathan Anderson to assume a consolidated leadership role across Dior", said UBS analyst Zuzanna Pusz.

A spokesperson for Dior declined to comment on succession plans.

Bernard Arnault's daughter Delphine Arnault, the chief executive of Christian Dior Couture, thanked Chiuri for creating "highly desirable collections".

"She has written a key chapter in the history of Christian Dior, contributing significantly to its tremendous growth," she said in a statement.

Chiuri, in the same statement, said she was "immensely proud" of the nine years she spent in the job.

The Italian designer, 61, was the first woman to hold the position of creative director in Dior's almost 80-year history.

Before joining the French brand in 2016, Chiuri worked for Valentino and Fendi.

Chiuri held her last fashion show for Dior at Villa Albani in Rome - her hometown - earlier this week, presenting the brand's cruise collection.

Chiuri is also known for her feminism, which she has brought to the catwalk, featuring a white t-shirt with the quote "We Should All Be Feminists" in her first Dior show.

Earlier this month French luxury group Kering said it had appointed former Valentino designer Pierpaolo Piccioli as creative director at Balenciaga, replacing Demna who is taking up the chief design job at the group's top label Gucci.

Designer changes have also taken place at Chanel, Versace, Valentino and LVMH-owned Celine among others.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel and Elisa AnzolinWriting by Gabriel StargardterEditing by Tomasz Janowski, Mark Potter and Elaine Hardcastle)