Though fashion and the decorative arts often use the same methods and craftsmanship (what the French call savoir-faire), work from the same knowledge of ancestral techniques, and draw from the same visual culture and references, it wasn’t until this month that one of French culture’s preeminent institutions gave them equal footing in its storied galleries. Louvre Couture: Objects of Art, Objects of Fashion opened last week in Paris at the Louvre Museum, showcasing fashion for the first time in its 231-year history.
From left to right: Schiaparelli suit with bust. Iris van Herpen copper-plated 3D-printed polyamide dress. Hermès minidress in stretch silk knit with mesh overlay. Loewe by Jonathan Anderson blue cotton top with copper wings.
Open through July 21st, the exhibition was curated by Olivier Gabet, director of the museum’s department of decorative arts. It features 100 ensembles and accessories from houses including Louis Vuitton, Prada, Jacquemus, and Dior installed throughout 100,000 square feet. Dating from 1960 to today, the pieces represent an acknowledgment of skill as much as a shift in the museum’s attitude towards popular culture. If, as many an Elle Decor story can attest, fashion can be a gateway into the decorative arts and design, let it be. (Not quite as catchy as “Let them eat cake,” but with a hopefully more productive outcome for the culture.)
A Balenciaga gown stands in stark contrast to an ornate dining room.
And while the Louvre may not historically conserve garments, clothing is, of course, depicted throughout its many galleries, seen in everything from ancient bas-reliefs to 18th-century portraits. To that end, the exhibition is structured around historical periods, though visitors are encouraged to explore them in or out of chronological order.
Artworks made from gold, ivory, and gemstones in the section on Byzantium and the Middle Ages create a material rapport with the looks on display, presented on mirrored podiums. The rooms devoted to the Renaissance feature richly enameled ceramics, finely detailed armour, and colorful tapestries that engage pieces like the handmade brass bust of a Schiaparelli suit from Daniel Roseberry’s spring 2023 “Inferno” haute couture collection.
A Louis Vuitton jacket by Nicolas Ghesquiere.
Other notable pieces include a Chanel jacket designed by Karl Lagerfeld with embroidery by Lesage, featuring a pattern drawn from a chest of drawers by cabinet maker Mathieu Criaerd; a crystal-embroidered Dolce & Gabbana dress that nods to 11th-century mosaics from the Torcello cathedral, in Venice; and one silk Dior gown bearing a Sun King motif, staged meaningfully before a baroque portrait of Louis XIV.
Religious iconography and motifs as mundane as flora and fauna take on a renewed urgency when refracted through the whimsical and wondrous lens of couture. “Museums are houses of knowledge, but also places of delight and enjoyment,” Gabet said in a release.
A gown by John Galliano for Christian Dior.
To commemorate the installation and raise funds for the museum, a Grand Dîner du Louvre will take place in early March in the Cour Marly, a covered sculpture garden. What better place to bring together the worlds of art, design, and fashion than through that other pinnacle of savoir-faire—haute cuisine? Bonne dégustation!
Sean Santiago is ELLE Decor’s Deputy Editor, covering news, trends and talents in interior design, hospitality and travel, culture, and luxury shopping. Since starting his career at an interior design firm in 2011, he has gone on to cover the industry for Vogue, Architectural Digest, Sight Unseen, PIN-UP and Domino. He is the author of The Lonny Home (Weldon Owens, 2018), has produced scripted social content for brands including West Elm and Streeteasy, and is sometimes recognized on the street for his Instagram Reels series, #DanceToDecor
