Maria Grazia Chiuri uses each haute couture défilé as a chance to delve further into the intricate design process that goes into making clothes. The haute couture piece is meant to be worn on the body. a dwelling for the dead. The manifesto of the body.

Artists, poets, and fashion designers all dreamed of living in Paris in the 1920s, and Joséphine Baker, an Afro-American singer and dancer, served as inspiration for Dior’s next Spring/Summer 2023 collection. She is a gorgeous symbol who personifies the progressiveness, breaking down of barriers, and exchange of ideas that characterised the exciting era of cabaret. She became a French citizen and performed at the Strand Theater and Carnegie Hall in New York, where she was lauded by a postwar Europe that appreciated her performances and her choice of French haute couture, especially her signature Dior gowns.

The photographs of Joséphine Baker, whose vitality is emphasised by their black and white tonality (capturing her as a dancer, entertainer, member of the French resistance, civil rights activist for the African-American community, humanist, and universal benefactress), constitute a kind of sartorial biography, the illustrative story of a pioneer, a role model. A sequence of coats, evoking the privacy and safety of her dressing room before taking the stage, are worn by her. Composed of light velvet, crumpled and dynamic, or quilted, they open to reveal lightweight satin undergarments that have been transformed into protagonists. The powdered hues and black offer a modern take on classics from the 1950s.

The clothes are soft and caress the wearer. in silk or velvet, frequently with a wrinkled look and a syncopated rhythm, injecting life into the fabric. Careful handwork went into the needlework. The runway is filled with small silver studs and sequins, which reflect the runway lights into the audience. Fringes in metallic silver and gold tones complement and amplify the body’s ballet of drawn movements. The coats and suits pay homage to Monsieur Dior’s love of masculine textiles. The length, which is consistently above the ankle, shows heels and substantial soles.

African-American artist Mickalene Thomas staged the show, which honours black and mixed-race women like Joséphine Baker who became influential leaders by challenging stereotypes and conventions. She reveals the collection’s hidden meaning and shakes up the concept of haute couture, showing how the essence of fashion can become a bold act of self-awareness.

A unique set design specially dreamed up by Mickalene Thomas

After working with Mickalene Thomas for the Dior Cruise 2020 collection, which was shown in Marrakech, Morocco, designer Maria Grazia Chiuri decided to rekindle their creative collaboration for the Dior haute couture Spring/Summer 2023 presentation. The head of Dior’s women’s collections had given her free reign to reimagine the new look for that particular occasion.

Mickalene Thomas questions and challenges the established art historical canons through her investigations of celebrity culture, female empowerment, and the masculine gaze. She makes paintings and collages that combine printed pictures, photographs, and other materials. Sometimes she uses the iconographies of well-known artists to challenge ideas about femininity and beauty that people already have.

Her set design was created especially for this Dior show, and it represents a new pantheon of women that emerged from a discussion on the significance of black and mixed-race female figures who became role models by choosing to think and behave in a different way.

The space is dominated by oversized pictures of notable public figures, which were created using needlework techniques developed by the Chanakya ateliers and the Chanakya school of craft and were then stitched onto a printed cloth background. They are a varied and interesting crew that has challenged convention and accomplished great things, serving as an example to people all throughout the world. Dorothy Dandridge was the first African-American woman to be nominated for a best actress Oscar, and Hazel Scott was the first African-American woman to host her own television show. Other pioneering women in their fields include Josefina Baker and Nina Simone.

“These women have broken many barriers in television, film, fashion, and social activism. It is because of their determination and sacrifices that I am able to make this work and be the artist I am today,” says Mickalene Thomas.

The portraits carried out by Mickalene Thomas represent: Joséphine Baker, Diahann Carroll, Dorothy Dandridge, Marpessa Dawn, Ophelia Devore, Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt, Donyale Luna, Josephine Premice, Hazel Scott, Nina Simone, Naomi Sims, and Helen Williams.

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