Tribute to Josephine Baker at the Dior couture show

Published on 26 January 2023. Updated on 29 July 2025.

Tribute to Josephine Baker at the Dior Spring/Summer 2023 couture show

While a biopic about Josephine Baker starring singer Janelle Monae is in the making, Dior’s womenswear creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri pays tribute to the African American dancer and singer who landed in Paris in 1925 and was naturalized French in 1937. The Dior couture collection draws its inspiration from the Roaring Twenties. It features silk and velvet creations gliding over the body, often with a crumpled effect or decorated with fine embroidery, tiny silver studs and sequins that naturally reflect the light. The spirit of the cabaret is also present in the silver and gold shades of the fringed designs, which contrast with the suits and ankle-length cold wool coats paired with imposing shoes inspired by the men’s wardrobe.

A whole pantheon of women imagined by artist Mickalene Thomas

Regarding the set of the Dior Spring/Summer 2023 couture show, Maria Grazia Chiuri called on American artist Mickalene Thomas, who had already been invited to reinterpret a Lady Dior bag for the house in 2019. As a committed visual artist, Mickalene Thomas questions the representation of black women, gender, and beauty standards in her paintings, collages, videos, and photographs. For the house of Dior, she created a giant portrait gallery, like a pantheon of women featuring exceptional personalities. A final tribute to Josephine Baker, the first black woman to ever entered the French Pantheon in 2021.

The stars seen at the Dior Spring/Summer 2023 haute couture show