At Dior, A Strong Royal Influence This Season
The mantra at Dior this season: “The power of fashion is the power of women”. And trust creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri to turn to one of the most influential female style icons of all time for inspiration: the Italian-born 16th-century Queen of France Catherine de’ Medici, who expressed her rule through not just her wit, but also her wardrobe. Together with the luxury maison, FEMALE looks at how her approach to dressing up continues to reign today.
Catherine de’ Medici became the Queen of France in the 1500s through her marriage with King Henry II and was renowned for her political savviness, especially at a time when the royal court was heavily dominated by men. Adding to her influence was her sartorial daring: She was said to have introduced the corset, platform shoes and Burano lace to the royal manufacturers, in turn helping to shape French fashion.
Technical fabric and taffeta coat, and D‐Renaissance metal choker with resin pearls. All Dior throughout
The wide-reaching power of what she wore can be said to be captured in Chiuri’s revival of an archival scarf print from the ’50s, which features a map of Avenue Montaigne in Paris – home to Dior since its start. In the playful hands of Chiuri, the graphic black-and-white pattern – dubbed Plan de Paris – turns up on the likes of a trench coat, bustier tops, silk bandanas and even Dior’s signature Saddle bag. How’s that for another example of a woman using fashion to reinvent a city and its past?
(Left) Cotton muslin bra, matching skirt, Grand Bal metal and grosgrain necklace with resin pearls, matching rings with resin pearls and Lady D-Joy Medium lambskin handbag. (Right) Technical jacquard anorak, Grand Bal rings with resin pearls, Saddle calfskin shoulder bag, cotton socks and Aime Dior calfskin boots.
Within Dior’s Spring Summer 2023 collection is a feminine floral capsule that can be said to be an ode to the Tuileries Garden – the famous public park in the heart of Paris that was commissioned by de’ Medici and was also the venue of Dior’s show this season. Expect lightweight, weekend-appropriate pieces such as shirt dresses, bralette tops, and matching shorts and floaty maxi skirts swathed in prints of assorted blooms right out of a pretty winter garden. For a youthful edge, Chiuri paired them with utilitarian boots or de’ Medici-inspired platform shoes, which sport multiple straps from the ankles up to the knees, on the runway.
Cotton chiffon blouse, matching skirt and shorts, Dior Tribales metal earring with freshwater and resin pearls, Mer des Merveilles metal necklace with resin pearls, Grand Bal metal ring with resin pearls, cotton socks and Diorunion rubber boots
And consider this other fun fact: de’ Medici had a penchant for intricate needlework. For Dior Spring Summer 2023, Chiuri introduces a range of artisanal separates and coats in raffia adorned with floral and bird motifs – the raw yet decorative fabric lending both romance and regalness (raffia coats are said to have been an ancestral tradition in the royal courts of France).
Another nod to de' Medici in Dior Spring Summer 2023: the many hourglass silhouettes. Think architectural bustier minidresses; bra tops paired with wide, delicately embroidered hoop skirts; and a modern take on retro fit-and-flare frocks (which echo, perhaps not so uncannily, another Dior icon: the New Look).
(Clockwise from top left) Silk and cotton shirt dress; silk twill scarves (worn as bandana and in hair); D-Renaissance metal and grosgrain choker; and Dior Caro calfskin belt with resin pearl chain. Raffia jacket, linen bra; cotton shorts; D-Renaissance metal and grosgrain choker; Grand Bal metal ring with resin pearls; Lady D-Lite Medium embroidered raffia handbag; cotton socks; and Diorunion rubber boots. Silk twill robe; matching pants; silk scarf top; and silk twill scarves (worn as bandana and around waist. Cotton seersucker dress; Grand Bal metal ring with resin pearls; and Key Medium leather handbag
The season's new bag makes the perfect complement. Aptly dubbed Key and inspired by the archives, it's a minimalist framed purse with softly rounded curves and slim double handles designed long enough to carry it in hand, on the shoulder or elegantly in the crook of the arm, as women did in the '50s – a sophisticated vintage touch that would appeal to both Gen Zers and those older. Its name is a reference to it key-shaped clasp adornd with hardware in the form of the maison's CD logo.
This article is adapted from a story that first appeared in the March 2023 Express Yourself! Edition of FEMALE