For the first time in its history, and it sounds odd to even write this, le Musée de Louvre had a fashion exhibit. Louvre Couture opened up to the public on January 24th with a grand Met Gala-like red carpet event during the first week of March.

On display until August 24th, find 99 pieces – 65 of which are designs (dresses, gowns, suits, etc.) positioned in nearly 9,000-square-metre of space, “newly illuminating the close historical dialogue that continues to take place between the world of fashion and the department’s greatest masterpieces, from Byzantium to the Second Empire. Each of these garments and accessories is on special loan from the most iconic fashion houses, both long-standing and recent, in Paris and throughout the world.”

Specifically located in the Department of Decorative Arts in the museum, each design is chosen for its particular location thoughtfully – “The pieces will not be displayed aimlessly throughout the Department of Decorative Arts, but rather will serve as an occasion to highlight existing parallels: the department owes part of its collection to the generosity of great fashion figures, from Jacques Doucet to Madame Carven. These countless connections embrace common methodological ground in the fields of art history and fashion: knowledge of ancestral techniques, visual culture and the subtle interplay of references, from the catalogue raisonné of the museum to the moodboard of the fashion world. ‘Louvre Couture’ offers a new perspective on decorative arts through the prism of contemporary fashion design.”

Visiting on a Friday evening, the first week of March, Paris Fashion Week was in full swing, and so that too provided a throng of people and living style inspiration in contemporary time.

If you happen to be in Paris now or will be before the exhibit concludes on August 24th, it is worth checking out, if nothing else to enjoy a fashion show, of the likes that has never been seen before. And be sure to bring your flats. I dressed up for the occasion, as I felt it was only respectful to do, wore heels – bien sûr!, but also had my Longchamp tote, and halfway through the exhibit, found a comfortable chair, and swapped my heels for flats. The exhibit will have you walking the full length up one side and down the other of the museum on the second floor, and you will feel as though you had quite the nice long walk with gorgeous eye candy to gaze at.

I invite you to grab an aperitif, settle in and savor these exquisite works of art that happen to be clothing. Needless to say, this exhibit demonstrates the powerful medium of communication that fashion can be.

Below you will find 30 of the 65 designs included in the exhibit, and with all but two, I was able to capture a photo of each design’s details – design house, designer, collection and inspiration, and then I did capture more than a handful of videos to give you a feel of the entire space many of the dresses were placed. However, viewing the photos first will help to know what you are viewing in the video. I do hope you enjoy. Let’s get started.

The Louvre Couture exhibit in photos

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

The Video Tour of Louvre Couture exhibit

Explore All of the Posts Shared During TSLL’s 10th Annual French Week