In Chiuri’s case, she has used each of her collections to reflect on women of achievement: artists, writers, activists. But none of them was the match of Catherine de’ Medici, Tuesday’s inspiration. Born in Florence, she married Henry, second son of the French king Francis I, in 1533, and essentially civilised the French by showing up in Paris with the Italian cooks and seamstresses who were the genesis of haute cuisine and haute couture. The French were not happy, especially when, following her husband’s death, Catherine went on to wield an extraordinary amount of power for a woman in such turbulent times. It was mightily tempting to see a parallel with Chiuri’s own experience as an Italian woman in France’s contemporary court, the fashion world. She scoffed at the thought. It was Catherine’s innate understanding of the power of fashion that fascinated her.
After her husband’s death, Catherine dressed in black for the rest of her life. Conveniently, it was also a shade that broadcast her status (black being the most expensive dye, therefore only available to the wealthiest). She was short, so she introduced the choupette, the platform shoe, to the French court. She felt the added height gave her importance. She also introduced lingerie. And her seamstresses taught the French about lace and embroidery. You could trace all those elements through Chiuri’s new collection.
A conversation between France and Italy, she called it, but there was also a personal dialogue between the more architectural essence of French construction and Chiuri’s own background. “Lighter, more fragile, more natural,” so she said. The contrast was obvious from the first look. The exaggerated pannier silhouette was more historical than anything she’s offered in the past, but it was draped in a black lace woven from raffia, paired with a simple bra top, and accessorised with a ribbon tied round the midriff, a poignant clincher. If Chiuri had Catherine de’ Medici on her mind, she was also thinking of Mustang, a Turkish film she’s loved recently. The story may be a melancholy Virgin Suicides-like tale of four sisters exorcised by their community, but it spoke to her about the way in which women together can present a formidable front. Something magical in that witchery (which is why Picnic at Hanging Rock was also on the mood board).
Chiuri said when she goes to schools to speak to students, she finds many of them riven by a love/hate relationship with fashion because of the power of the conglomerates. “When I was young, I saw fashion as an expression of freedom,” she said. “Now I see fashion can be about expressing your freedom, but also your power too.” The abiding impression of Chiuri’s show was the hyper-feminine prettiness of lace and bloomers and corsets and embroidered flowers sparked by the intense, unblinking, heavily shadowed gaze of her new model army.
Jonathan Anderson - Designer, Creative Director of JW Anderson & Christian Dior (17 Viewers)