Maria Grazia Chiuri probes nature versus imitation with Dior’s enigmatic SS23 show

What is real and what is imitation? Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Christian Dior SS23 womenswear presentation conjured an artificial – almost mystical – grotto within the grounds of Paris’ Jardin des Tuileries.

Back in 2020, Dior partnered with Le Louvre on a five-year deal to restore the gardens, created by Catherine de’ Medici during her controversial (some say supernatural) reign as the Queen of France from 1547-1559. Chiruri drew inspiration from Catherine for the collection, which was presented inside a temporary structure at the Tuileries Gardens and produced by Bureau Betak.

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A baroque grotto by French artist Eva Jospin took centre stage, inspired perhaps by the de’ Medici family’s Boboli Gardens grotto at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The intricate, elaborate set was carved from cardboard, with its swooping, tree-filled arches and columns arranged enfilade. Glowing grasses hung from its ceiling like an organic candelabra. This fusion of natural and unnatural took on an eerie vibe, with architectural columns seemingly intertwined with rock formations and ornamentation.

‘Why create a fake intepretertion of nature when you’re surrounded by the real thing? The main idea behind this new project was to explore the concept of artifice and fakeness when representing nature,’ explained Chiuri. ‘It’s very strange, but sometimes we have this need to understand realty through its imitation.’

A powerful ballet performance, choreographed by Imre and Marne van Opstalby, opened the show with dancers in zipped vests and nude underwear painted like statues. Models, meanwhile, dressed in gothic black dresses with gathered waists, walked beneath a canopy of flora resembling stalactites.