Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Letter From Rome: “Fashion Has a Small Part but Together We Can Make a Big Difference”

I'm writing this from my home in Rome, where I have been working since the end of March to be closer to my family. It's a strange, scary time for my home country, but it's made me even more proud to be Italian. During the coronavirus crisis, I've been humbled to witness the dedication of our doctors and nurses, who I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart. Our innate sense of being Italian has helped us feel close despite our distance. It will help us get through these terrible times.

Working together, albeit from afar

At Dior, a lot of our work is in Italy, too. I live in Rome. My family is in Rome. We have several factories in Italy, including one in Tuscany. Normally we would spend some time in Italy before showing a collection because we want to see the final prototypes and shapes. This season though, we had no time to reflect on what was happening. When things worsened, my first priority was to say to my team: "Please, we have to protect ourselves now, and find a different way to work." We immediately got computers so we could work remotely. I love to share ideas with my team—we speak all the time. Social distancing, especially from my background, feels strange.

We've been working in isolation for several weeks now. We share things via FaceTime and WhatsApp. Honestly, though, it's not so easy. To have an idea and make a sketch is one thing, but our work is practical. It's always a very involved, hands-on process.

Recently, one of our Baby Dior workshops in Redon, Brittany, reopened in order to make masks. I'm very proud of the whole fashion system. So many industries are using their knowledge, capacity and resources to invent and make things that the medical community currently needs. I'm really happy that the fashion world has reacted to this situation by immediately starting to produce masks. Not only the big brands such as Dior, Armani and Prada but also smaller companies. It's beautiful what's happening there.

How I'm keeping busy at home

During this time, especially at night, I read a lot. I watch TV, but usually only for the news. I found it stressful seeing the news all the time. Recently I've been reading Roland Barthes' Il Senso della Moda [The Fashion System], Luce Irigaray's Speculum of the Other Woman, Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life, Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli's Roma, and Georg Simmel's La Moda. I've been watching films too, including Portrait of a Lady on Fire by Céline Sciamma and All About My Mother by Pedro Almodóvar.

Staying at home means I have all my personal things near at hand. Because of my job, I spend my life traveling around the world. So to be able to be at home, were it not for this terrible moment, would be a pleasure. I have my books, my personal things. I cook. I have this big box where I keep my letters and pictures, and I've been putting all those memories in order recently. But obviously I'd prefer it to be my choice to be here, rather than as a consequence of this unprecedented situation.

Learning from the past, while looking to the future

At Dior, I spend my time simultaneously looking backwards and forwards. It's important to know everything — to recognize the history and rich heritage of the house and use this to determine a new future. Monsieur Dior started his company after the second world war to offer people happiness and beauty. Normally after a war people want escapism—they want to forget what happened—but this pandemic is a very new and unexpected type of challenge, a kind we've never experienced before.

In Italy, we are demonstrative. When you see someone you know, you kiss them and give them your hand. I don't know if in future people will want to be so close to each other again.

The important thing for me is to maintain an optimistic vision and focus on the importance of teamwork and solidarity. I'm proud that in fashion, this is such a strong value. Here, we can use those values to do something positive. It's a small part, but collaboratively we can make a big difference.

As told to Rosalind Jana.