The Musée du Louvre is currently staging its first-ever fashion exhibition, “Louvre Couture. Art and Fashion: Statement Pieces.” Fashion as art, or rather the art of couture fashion has increasingly become a thing appearing in respected galleries and museum spaces across the globe as the craft of fashion designers and the painstaking work of the "petites mains" who create the intricate embroideries etc. adorning their garments has gained interest and becoming increasingly acceptable and appreciated as a serious form of art. Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum is currently displaying Suit Yourself: 100 years of Menswear, 1750-1850, dedicated to the exuberant finery worn by flamboyant Dutchmen of the period, and in May the Metropolitan Museum will present their annual fashion exhibition Superfine: tailoring Black Style, which looks at the black dandy in male fashion. There have been predecessors to the Louvre's exhibition of course, recent examples of exhibitions featuring couture garments and accessories in London alone include Crown to Couture, at Kensington Palace (here), Sargent and Fashion, (here), and Wild and Cultivated: Fashioning the Rose, (here). The Louvre has possibly taken its cue from the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute in New York which has a long tradition of showcasing its covetable fashion collection each year with specifically themed displays publicised by their annual ticketed Met Ball galas. The Louvre similarly fundraised by hosting a ticketed gala, Le Grand Dîner du Louvre, during Paris Fashion Week which surpassed its goal of raising €1 million for the institution. The Musée du Louvre's showpiece appears to be the grandest of all such fashion themed exhibitions thus far. Not only is there the magnificence of the spectacular room settings within the Louvre itself, but also over 100 couture pieces from 45 fashion houses. Among the most iconic names are Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Prada, Gucci, and Fendi. Contemporary labels such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, Maison Margiela, Alaïa, Schiaparelli, Bottega Veneta, and Dolce & Gabbana bring a sense of drama. Also featured are avant-garde, experimental designers such as Iris van Herpen, Rick Owens and Thom Browne. The Louvre and areas of its collections indeed provided the inspiration for certain designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Azzedine Alaïa who would often frequent the museum for source material to base their designs on. Interestingly the opening dress on the trail is a lovely 1949 black and white, evening gown design by Christian Dior entitled "Musée du Louvre". So seamlessly do many of the couture garments fit into the opulent backdrops they look as though they were made for the rooms. I'm thinking specifically of John Galliano's Dior silk and cut-velvet couture gown, trimmed in ermine, housed in the splendour of the Napoleon III apartments (picture above). Other interesting juxtapositions include an unwieldy-looking metal dress created by Demna for Balenciaga sitting perfectly adjacent to a suit of armour from 1560. The dresses actually animate the objets d'art that they sit with creating a certain dialogue. Following the trail was not only a lesson in history because of the fabulous rooms and objects contained within the Louvre, but also an education in the language of couture fashion. Daunted by the sheer scale of the place these suites of rooms in the Richelieu Wing were a section of the Louvre I had never visited before. Like most tourists previously I had only gone to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and certain other famous paintings in the museum's collection but then had immediately left because of the weight of the crowds and having to negotiate the miles of corridors. On this occasion however despite limited time, it was a pleasure to briefly take in some of the Louvre's other collections whilst on the Couture trail. Visitors are treated to a splendid array of precious objects and decorative styles across the ages from Byzantium to Second Empire era France. These are the finest examples of ceramics, furniture, miniature paintings, wonderful tapestries, armour and gorgeous period room sets. The curators have done a fantastic job of weaving fashion into major historical themes rather than following the usual exhibition format. The undoubted success of this exhibition will certainly give the Mona Lisa something to truly smile about.
Louvre Couture. Art and Fashion: Statement Pieces
until 21st July
Musée du Louvre
99 Rue de Rivoli,
75001 Paris
