Louvre Couture: the fashion event exhibition, the first in the history of the Louvre Museum

Notice to sewing addicts: the Louvre gets into fashion! – From January 24 to July 21, 2025the Louvre swaps its classic tunes for a true style review with “LOUVRE COUTURE. Art objects, fashion objects“. The most iconic museum in the world opens its imaginary cloakroom and rolls out its red carpet modewith a exhibition that combines haute couture and historical masterpieces. Tailor-made!

Art and fashion: a story sewn with golden thread

On 9,000 square meters, the Louvre invites you to a parade or rather an unprecedented stroll where the silhouettes of the greatest couturiers mingle with the treasures of its Objects of Art department. A hundred creations mythical, clothing and accessories, lent by 45 fashion houses – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Yohji Yamamoto and even Iris van Herpen – interact with pieces of decorative art that continue to inspire stylists.

From an antique bas-relief to a grandiose tapestry, including an 18th century chest of drawers, art bends over backwards to reveal its most beautiful materials and techniques, subtly reinterpreted in contemporary couture creations: a Boulle piece of furniture inspires embroidery of a suit, an armor becomes a dress…

A journey through the centuries

Here, no classic route, but an invitation to stroll. Visitors will travel from one era to another, depending on their inspiration. Heading for Byzantium and the Middle Ageswhere the most precious works – gold, ivory and precious stones – are reflected in sublime silhouettes, proudly perched on mirrored podiumsgiving the museum galleries a catwalk feel. On the side of Renaissance roomsthe majestic tapestries, enameled ceramics and finely worked armor also play it, accomplices of the designer pieces.

Then place the rooms of the Council of State where the costumes inspired by Grand Century display their splendor, while in the period roomswhere works from the 18th century are exhibited, dresses, ensembles and accessories are immersed in period settings, for a journey through time in haute couture.

And to end this parade in style, head to the Napoleon III apartments, where the exuberance of the 19th century bursts through flamboyant silhouettes, worthy of an imperial ball. A glamorous apotheosis that leaves you dreaming!

An infinite moodboard for creators

The Louvre does not keep any clothes – except for a few historical pieces such as the coats of the Order of the Holy Spirit – but the galleries are full of textile inspirations. The creators are not mistaken: for them, the museum is a real open-air workshop, an XXL moodboard where every detail can become a source of inspirationn. It is this richness that the exhibition explores with passion.

Ce link between couture and culture is not from yesterday. Figures like Jacques Doucet or Marie-Louise Carven – who donated a collection of 18th century art objects to the Louvre – contributed to making this dialogue a tradition. Even today, fashion designers revisit ancient know-howplaying with eras and references.

A perfectly fitting scenography

The magic of this exposition is also based on the scenography entrusted to Nathalie Crinière, a virtuoso of detail. After having magnified the Dior Gallery and the exhibitions for Elsa Schiaparelli and Iris van Herpen, here she sublimates the interactions between fashion and art with a immersive stagingwhere each room finds its light.

Olivier Gabet, director of the Louvre's Objects of Art department, sums up the issue perfectly: “Today, I think fashion is even more interesting when presented in relation to other fields. When you talk to a designer, they of course talk to you about fashion, but also about art, crafts and photography.” A thousand-faceted dialogue that reveals a fashion that is rich, inspired, and more vibrant than ever.

Art and fashion have never been so well matched!