Inside the Louvre’s first couture exhibition, with treasures from Versace to Dior | CNN

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CNN
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Throughout his legendary career, Karl Lagerfeld maintained that “art is art, fashion is fashion.” But a new exhibit, “Louvre Couture, Art and Fashion: Statement Pieces,” may prove the late German fashion designer wrong. Running until July 21, the exhibition features 45 designers – from Chanel and Balenciaga to Versace and Yves Saint Laurent – revealing an unprecedented dialogue between art and fashion from the 1960s to today.

Seventy dresses and 30 accessories by a host of renowned designers are presented in this landmark show – the first ever fashion exhibition at the Louvre – and the creations are often hidden among nearly 100,000 square feet of rooms and galleries.

While this is the first time the Louvre shows fashion clothing, the costumes are found in its houses, from Vermeer’s “Lacemaker” to Ingres’ nude, dressed in “Grand Odalisque.”  What is worn – or not worn – has become a central part of the creation and reception of art.

“It is very important for the Louvre to continue to open itself to new generations and to make its small contribution to understanding today’s world. That is what this exhibition does,” said Laurence des Cars, president of the museum, in an interview at the Louvre.

The collection weaves threads between different styles and layers of “art objects” – including tapestries, ceramics, photographs, sculptures and the setting of the Louvre itself. Visitors are invited to flâner – or wander aimlessly, as the French saying goes – through the museum and discover its famous collections.

“The Louvre is more than just the ‘Mona Lisa’,” Olivier Gabet, director of artefacts and exhibition expert, said with a smile.

While painter Paul Cézanne once observed that “The Louvre is the book we learn to read,” for fashion designers, the museum is “The Ultimate Mood Board,” Gabet observed. From Lagerfeld to Alexander McQueen, designers have long been fascinated by the wealth of collections displayed at the world’s greatest museums. Others, like Christian Louboutin, drew on Gabet’s childhood memories of days spent in his halls. Others, like Yves Saint Laurent, were themselves art connoisseurs and collectors. For Gabet, the personal relationship between the designers and the Louvre is the starting point for the exhibition.

It is the connection established by the Dior silhouette that opens the exhibition, said Gabet. Named, “Musée du Louvre,” Gabet said that, to his knowledge, it is “the only piece in the history of Haute Couture to be named after the museum.

The exhibition pays homage to major historical periods, inviting visitors to rediscover the Louvre’s remains through the prism of contemporary designers. Highlights include crystal-embroidered Dolce & Gabbana dresses inspired by 11th-century paintings from Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello, Venice. A spectacular silk robe with the motif of the King is placed in front of a Baroque portrait of Louis Xiv himself.

Iconic pieces such as Gianni Versace’s 1997 metallic mesh gown – previously shown at the “Heavenly Bodies” Met Gala – are also on display. The dress took two atelier seconds more than 600 hours – or 25 days – to sew by hand and is decorated with Swarovski crystals, gold embroidery with Byzantine crosses and Versace’s signature inspired by ancient Greek clothing.

The coat inspired Kim Kardashian’s golden dress at the Met Gala “tribute” collection by Donatella Versace “in the same year, which featured five original supermodels: Naomi Campbell, Carla Bruni, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Helena Christensen.

Sometimes, designers’ references to objects in the louvre are literal. Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel collection, for example, featured a quilted jacket whose motif is derived from an 18th-century blue and white chest by cabinetmaker Mathieu Criaerd. Lagerfeld, who considered the Louvre his “second studio,” sketched his first dress design on the museum’s chest catalog, before sending the final version to the Chanel Atelier.

Glamor can be found even in the Middle Ages, and Armor-style clothing transforms models into a modern Joan of Arc. French actress Brigitte Bardot was photographed by David Bailey in a 1967 Paco Rabanne Chainmail Tunic, which is on display next to a 3D printed Balenciaga armor gown.

More often than not, the sweep of history serves as a common inspiration for designers, such as Italian Renaissance paintings by Maria Grazia Chiuri at Christian Dior, old tapestries by Dries Van Notn, or 18th century objects produced by John Galliano and Christian Louboutin.

With Paris Fashion Week around the corner, “Louvre Couture” provides a source of inspiration for designers and visitors alike, highlighting the ongoing dialogue between art and fashion.

“The exhibition is not here to say that fashion is or is not art,” Gabet concluded. “Fashion is about creation. Artistic culture shared between great designers – that’s the leitmotif of the collection.”

And this is just the beginning of the conversation. In March, the famous Parisian museum will host hundreds of guests for the Grand Dîner. An event that is already being mentioned as the first Gala of France.