Hollywood favorite

Chiuri's fairy-tale floor-sweeping dresses and willowy frocks have won her an army of Hollywood fans including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway and Kiera Knightley.

With her departure widely predicted, Vogue described Chiuri's swansong Paris show for Valentino as "an unforgettable farewell".

Its Shakespearean ruffs and Renaissance-inspired dresses had the critic Suzy Menkes asking archly, "To stay or not to stay, that was the question."

But a source had earlier told AFP that Chiuri had already signed on the dotted line with Dior.

Chiuri, whose mother was a dressmaker but whose parents strongly disapproved of her going into fashion, took over at Valentino with Piccioli when its colorful founder Valentino Garavani retired in 2008.

Valentino, the "Sheikh of Chic", had poached them from the rival Roman label Fendi nearly a decade earlier.

There the pair had pioneered its groundbreaking accessories range, with Chiuri credited with creating its distinctive studded handbags.

Although there has been much speculation about how their 25-year partnership worked, Chiuri was always regarded as the senior partner.

Piccioli, who is two years her junior, has often praised her famous "intuition".

"Her faults? Can I make a list," he told the Italian daily La Repubblica.

"Sometimes she has a tendency to have her own way," he joked.