By The Arts Editorial Team
Following the Louvre Museum's landmark debut fashion exhibition, Louvre Couture, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) presents an adaptation of the exhibition, from November 19th through March 15th, 2026. In dialogue with masterworks from the MFAH permanent collections and historic fashion houses are several rare loans from the Louvre's permanent collection of historical decorate arts. Located in two of the museum's galleries of Antiquities, European, American, Modern & Contemporary, and Design, the Houston curated show presents thirty-six ensembles and accessories from twenty-three fashion houses, including heritage houses Balenciaga, Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Vivienne Westwood, and contemporary designers, Thom Browne, Erdem, Jacquemus, and Iris van Herpen.
While the majority of pieces date to the 90s and 00s, early works such as are also on display. Extending into the realm of the visual arts are contemporary artworks and design works which come into dialogue with fashion, long standard practice in the publication history of Rain magazine. For example, Piet Mondrian's "Composition with Grid #1," (1918) is paired with Yves Saint Laurent’s 1965 Robe, André-Charles Boulle Longcase Clock (c. 1685) with Givenchy’s Pantsuit from 1990–91, an elaborate 18th-century Biombo [folding screen] with Views of Mexico City with Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel’s ensemble from 1990, and Louise Nevelson’s sculptural abstraction, "Mirror Image I" (1969) with a Yohji Yamamoto ensemble from 2024.
MFAH director and Margaret Alkek Williams chair, Gary Tinterow remarked, “It is a privilege to work with our colleagues at the Louvre to bring to the U.S. an inspiring dialogue between art and fashion... Working collaboratively to create thoughtful pairings, Olivier Gabet and Marie Brimicombe, the Louvre curators who originated this exhibition, and MFAH curators Cindi Strauss and Christine Gervais, bring fresh perspectives to our art collections, and illuminate the artistry of haute couture.”
By curating fashion ornamentation among design objects, art, and artifacts, a fascinating exchange occurs where the very heritage or possible inspiration behind a design becomes further illuminated. The distinctly baroque Italian label Dolce & Gabbana is paired with an Ancient Greek terracotta vessel Syriskos Painter, Red Figure Column Krater, Greece, Attica, 480–460 BC, and a dress from the Alta Moda Venezia collection of 2013 is paired with a scene of Venice's iconic canals in Canaletto's The Entrance to the Grand Canal c. 1730. Many such objects and designs are presented to enhance and capture this poignant exchange.
Christian Dior, designed by John Galliano, Dress, Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2009, silk organza, lace, and embroidery, Dior Heritage, Paris.
The White Star Factory, Tulipière, c. 1695, tin-glazed earthenware, musée du Louvre, Department of Decorative Arts, Paris, OA 4040.
Installation view. Installation view.
Thom Browne, designed by Thom Browne, Dress, Men’s Ready-to-Wear Spring/Summer 2020, seersucker, cotton tweed, cotton, and hoops, courtesy of Thom Browne. (Imagery courtesy of MFAH)
