The Louvre Museum will debut its first-ever fashion exhibition in January 2024, exploring the intersection of fashion and art through 65 Chanel designs and other creations inspired by the museum’s historic collections.
For the first time in its history, the Louvre Museum in Paris will host a fashion exhibition, showcasing haute couture and métiers d’art creations by the legendary Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. Opening in January 2024, the exhibition will highlight how fashion designers have drawn inspiration from the museum’s vast collection of precious objects, spanning Byzantine times to the Second French Empire.
Olivier Gabet, director of the Louvre’s decorative arts department, shared details about the exhibition, which aims to explore the intricate relationship between fashion and art. “This is really the first time that the Louvre has decided to create an exhibition about the relationship between fashion and its own collections,” Gabet revealed. The exhibition seeks to illuminate how the museum’s collections have long nurtured and inspired fashion designers, offering fresh perspectives on historical pieces and their modern influence.
Running from January 24 to July 21, 2024, the exhibition — with its title yet to be announced — will present approximately 65 ensembles and 30 accessories from a range of designers, including Lagerfeld’s creations for Chanel. These pieces will be carefully integrated into the museum’s 9,700-square-foot decorative arts galleries, which house treasures such as suits of armor, ivories, tapestries, and the lavish Napoleon III apartments. Though the Louvre itself does not hold a fashion collection, it will borrow pieces from designers across France, Italy, the UK, and the US, with a focus on fashion from the 1960s to today.
Visitors will experience a visually striking dialogue between the museum’s historical holdings and contemporary fashion, showing how designers pull inspiration for silhouettes, colors, and embellishments from the rich tapestry of the past. “We need to be very open-minded in the way we propose dialogues between fashion and art,” Gabet emphasized, underscoring the museum’s goal of bringing in a broader, younger audience who may otherwise find the collections distant.
In addition to Chanel, the exhibition will feature designs from names like Dolce & Gabbana and Yohji Yamamoto, along with some emerging talents. The display will be curated throughout the museum’s permanent galleries, with interior architect Nathalie Crinière designing the exhibition spaces. The show will also honor Madame Carven, a significant benefactor of the Louvre, whose donation of 18th-century furniture and decorative objects played a key role in the museum’s decorative arts collection.
This groundbreaking exhibition at the Louvre offers a fresh, modern take on fashion’s relationship with history and art, cementing the timeless influence of the museum’s collection on today’s most innovative designers.