The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum, stages haute couture gowns and accessories from renowned fashion houses such as Chanel, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, and Dior for the first time, within its decorative arts from Ancient Greece to France’s Second Empire. Opening during Mens Fashion Week, “Louvre Couture: art and fashion statement pieces” reinforces France’s prime position within the fashion and art worlds.

“Paris is the capital of fashion – there is a very strong relationship between the fashion houses and Paris, and the Louvre is in the heart of Paris,” Olivier Gabet, director of the museum’s Decorative Arts Museum which opened its collections to the Louvre, said.

Renowned designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Karl Lagerfeld have long shared a deep appreciation for the museum and for the arts in general. These important designers were all art collectors and philanthropists in their own rights.

Given the Louvre’s vast and encyclopedic dimension, this sumptuous exhibition takes a curated approach to delve into the history of decorative styles, art and crafts, and ornamentation within the archives of the Department of Decorative Arts led by Gabet. Here, textiles play a prominent role, though they are typically featured in tapestries and other decorative objects rather than clothing.

Gabet said to Vogue: “When you look at that, and the birth of haute couture, and how collecting allowed all these designers to consolidate their social status, there are deep cultural, societal, sociological reasons for us to do this. So our question was: how did designers look at the works in the Louvre, draw inspiration from them, reinterpret them? When you take a step back, fashion is everywhere you look—in Antiquity, in Babylon, in Athens, in Venetian painting and French sculpture, absolutely everywhere. At the Louvre, fashion isn’t ‘held’; it’s worn.”

Highlights include Alexander McQueen’s iconic Armadillo juxtaposed with 16th century ceramics, while Balenciaga’s Autumn/Winter 2023–24 Haute Couture armor-style gown is dramatically displayed at the Louvre diagonally across from a suit of armor once worn by King Henry II. Groundbreaking!

Meanwhile Le Louvre is facing serious issues with its building’s infrastructure, as highlighted in a letter from Laurence des Cars to Culture Minister Rachida Dati. The water leaks and temperature fluctuations mentioned are concerning because they could significantly affect the preservation of the priceless artworks on view and in storage. The Louvre’s long history makes it essential that these problems are addressed quickly to protect both the building and its collections.

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Images: Installation view of “Louvre Couture” at the Louvre, 2025. © Nicolas Bousser. Courtesy of the Louvre and Alexander McQueen; Courtesy of the Louvre Museum / Nicolas Bousser.