A taste of Paris has made its way to Texas. The Louvre’s second-hottest show of all time,“Louvre Couture,” just opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, fresh off the heels of its seven-month run in Paris earlier this year. The exhibition pairs apparel and accessories by top fashion houses from Yves Saint Laurent to Jacquemus with artworks and objects, illustrating how heavily designers draw from art history.
Yves Saint Laurent’s (1965)—the earliest design in “Louvre Couture” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston—alongside Piet Mondrian (1908). Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
“Louvre Couture” marked the Parisian museum’s first fashion exhibition in its 231-year history. More than one million people attended—just 12,000 less than the count for their record-holding “Leonardo Da Vinci” exhibition in 2019. Olivier Gabet, the Louvre’s director of decorative arts, conceptualized “Louvre Couture” upon joining the museum in 2022—after nearly a decade at next door’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs, home to the French state’s fashion collection.
A new Yohji Yamamoto ready-to-wear dress between Louise Nevelson, I (1969) on the left and Lee Bontecou, (1962) on the right. Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
“Louvre Couture” didn’t set out to boost visitorship. Instead, it aimed recast the museum as a fun, not stodgy site—reaching younger fans and inspiring repeat, local guests in the process. The MFAH’s director Gary Tinterow and curator Christine Gervais visited in March, and knew they had to host the show themselves.
Iris van Herpen, dress (2018) © Iris van Herpen, Amsterdam. Courtesy Iris van Herpen. © Yannis Vlamos.
In Paris, “Louvre Couture” featured 100 ensembles and accessories by 45 fashion houses. The Houston edition hosts 36 objects from 23 designers—29 pieces of clothing, and six accessories. Most hail from contemporary times, with a few modern exceptions. 15 of the Houston show’s treasures appeared in Paris, including a wasp-like Jean Paul Gaultier gown from 2008 and Iris Van Herpen’s mesmerizing Syntopia minidress of 2018. Several were chosen specifically for Houston, like a glittery Schiaparelli dress with two Texas tie-ins: Houston-born superstar Beyonce wore it onstage, and its designer, Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry, was born in Plano.
Christian Louboutin platforms (1995) Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The original “Louvre Couture” played out across the Louvre’s 100,000 square-foot Decorative Objects department. The MFAH’s rendition features three “rare loans” from that department. A 13th century Eucharistic dove occupies the same gallery as a pair of nervewracking 12-inch platform slippers that Christian Louboutin produced in 1995. A 16th century breastplate sits by a scintillating silver dress by Alaïa, from 2017. And, a late-17th century Dutch tulipière is echoed by an elegant blue and white gown that John Galliano designed for Dior in 2009.
The Galliano gown and the tulipiere. Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
“Louvre Couture” maintains its central thesis while adapting to the environment of the MFAH. There, the show spreads out across two buildings and over a dozen galleries that typically feature historic, modern, and contemporary art—lending an interesting, increased focus on painting, while still providing satisfying decorative art pairings.
Versace haute couture dress on the Autumn/Winter 1997-98 Runway. Photo courtesy of
Versace
Indeed, the MFAH might not look like the Louvre, but this show still brings the splendor. An ornate oak Longcase clock from 1685 is set alight by a Givenchy pantsuit from 1990 with its own brilliant brocade. A theatrical Dolce and Gabbana dress from 2013 foregrounds Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s mythological painting Juno and Luna (ca. 1735 – 1745). The sexiest Versace dress you’ve ever seen—made of metal and Swarovski crystals in 1997—scintillates near a case of Byzantine relics, with an ornate necklace from Chanel’s Métiers d’Art Paris-Byzance Collection (2010-11) sprinkled in for good measure. You will salivate.
The exhibition has no plans to travel America any further. Seize the spectacle while you can.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
