A Pair of Italian Princess Make an Artistic Statement at the Louvre

Last week, the Louvre opened its doors to fashion designers, celebrities, and influencers for a lavish dinner during Paris Fashion Week. Among the attendees were a pair of Italian princesses, wearing couture ensembles that must have felt right at home in an art museum.

Maria Carolina and Maria Chiara of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, pictured here posing in front of the famous glass pyramid at the entrance to the Louvre ahead of the dinner, are the daughters of the Duke and Duchess of Castro. Their father, Carlo, is one of the claimants of the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, which reigned in the Italian kingdoms of Sicily and Naples during the 18th and 19th centuries. Carolina and Chiara’s mother, Camilla Crociani, is the daughter of a billionaire and an actress, and the family lives a jet-setting lifestyle in Monaco. Both Carolina and Chiara are also influencers, with hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram.

The avant-garde ensembles worn by the young women for the Louvre event were made by an Indian designer, Rahul Mishra. They come from his Fall 2025 collection, “Becoming Love,” which was inspired by the art of the Viennese painter Gustav Klimt and by the spiritual principles of Sufism.

Here’s a look at Maria Carolina’s ensemble for the dinner, which features a beaded bodice that echoes Klimt’s The Kiss, paired with a black skirt and a dramatic black wrap.

And here’s a look at a model walking down the runway wearing the same look during the presentation of Mishra’s Fal 2025 collection.

The intricately beaded details of the pattern on the bodice are even more evident in this photograph. Carolina also wore a necklace with a stylized gold cross pendant. The jewel appears to be set with a central amethyst. The necklace doesn’t appear in any photographs from Mishra’s collection, suggesting that it likely comes from a different source. (Perhaps the Duchess of Castro’s extensive personal jewelry collection?)

Maria Chiara’s outfit for the Louvre dinner was even more daring: a beaded jumpsuit, inspired by Klimt patterns, with a second embellished head rising up beside Chiara’s face.

And here’s that look from Mishra’s Fall 2025 collection presentation. The placement of the faux head suggests an embrace, much like the one Klimt made famous in The Kiss.

Chiara sensibly kept her jewelry to the minimum with her outfit for the dinner, wearing just a sparkling diamond ring on her left hand. I mean, really, what earrings could compete with a second beaded head?

See you back here later today to discuss the jewels worn for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey!