Designers who work at iconic fashion houses often look back on the label’s historical past for inspiration and reference points in their new seasonal collections. After all, at places like Dior, which was founded in 1946, there are decades of work to be reexamined and reimagined. Maria Grazia Chiuri embraced this school of thought for Dior’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection. The house’s creative director was not only inspired by a map of Paris that was printed on an early 1950s Dior scarf, but she was also fascinated by Catherine de Medici. (For a little history lesson, Medici was queen of France from 1547 to 1559 and was known to be an unyielding ruler. She was also the mother to three French kings: Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III.)

“[This] noblewoman remains a figure emblematic of the relationship between women and power, and fascinates Maria Grazia Chiuri because of her political intelligence, but also the innovations she launched, such as heels, the corset, and Burano lace, introduced to the royal manufactures,” the house states in its show notes. It should be noted that Chiuri has a history at Dior for highlighting strong, powerful women in her collections. Thus, the polarizing Medici was right up Chiuri’s alley.

For her Spring 2023 lineup, Chiuri aptly merges what she’s learned about Medici with Dior’s classic design codes. As models walked down the runway in the Tuileries Garden, which was created by Medici in 1564, corsetry stood out as key…