PARIS, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri looked to the reign of Catherine de Medici and seized on the era’s hoop skirts, corsets and platform shoes, which she worked into a modern lineup for the label’s spring collection.
“I think she was the first that understood the power of fashion,” Chiuri told Reuters in an interview, describing how the 16th-century queen of France had introduced platform heels to raise her petite stature.
Models in wide, bell-shaped hoop skirts, lace shorts and long black coats covered in embroidered flowers paraded through an elaborate grotto structure, carved from layers of cardboard.
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Built by the artist Eva Jospin, it sat in the center of a temporary structure set up in the Tuileries gardens.
A model presents a creation by designer Maria Grazia Chiuri as part of her Spring-Summer 2023 Women’s ready-to-wear collection show for fashion house Dior during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, September 27, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Crowds gathered outside under umbrellas, angling for a glimpse of the celebrity arrivals, which included K-Pop star Jisoo, Natalie Portman and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
The LVMH-owned label marked the second day of the ready-to-wear shows for Paris Fashion Week, which runs through Oct. 4.
De Medici introduced embroidery to the French court, noted Chiuri, who included three-dimensional flowers in raffia and delicate lace lingerie in the collection — while keeping things modern, using technical fabrics for crinoline skirts and leaving midriffs exposed for many of the looks.
The idea was to create a “baroque party in a contemporary way,” said Chiuri.
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Reporting by Mimosa Spencer; editing by Jonathan Oatis
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