An outspoken feminist, Dior's womenswear designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said the corsets, crinolines and other historical items, inspired by 16th-century French queen Catherine de Medici, remained modern and functional despite their appearance
A model presents a creation for the Christian Dior Spring-Summer 2023 fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris, on September 27, 2022.
Image: Julien De Rosa / AFP©
Women have spent centuries trying to liberate themselves from heels and corsets, but the latest Dior collection at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday presented them as a sort of "ironic power dressing".
An outspoken feminist, Dior's womenswear designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said the corsets, crinolines and other historical items, inspired by 16th-century French queen Catherine de Medici, remained modern and functional despite their appearance.
"The idea that amused me was that there are elements in the clothes that create a regal imagination," Chiuri told AFP ahead of the show.
She presented the spring-summer 2023 collection against the backdrop of a grotto in the Jardin des Tuileries on the second day of Paris Fashion Week.
With dancers twisting in the background, the show sought to bring a "baroque party" atmosphere, reflecting the key inspiration of the collection.