“Louvre Couture,” Musée du Louvre’s inaugural fashion exhibition, instantaneously became a popular, destination show upon its debut in late January. So popular, the Paris museum extended its run through Aug. 24.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston director Gary Tinterow and curator Christine Gervais flew out last March to see it in person. They returned spellbound, and with a grand idea.
“They both fell in love with it… and loved to see if we could a version of it here,” MFAH curator Cindi Strauss told the Chronicle.
The following month, Olivier Gabet, Musée du Louvre’s director of the department of decorative arts visited Houston.
“He came to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston to have lunch and we walked him through the gallery,” Strauss said.
It was settled. The fashion exhibition could travel to Houston.
“Louvre Couture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston” will be on view Nov. 19 through March 15, 2026. Strauss and Gervais have assembled 35 ensembles from more than two dozen fashion houses such as Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Vivienne Westwood, Versace and Thom Browne across two buildings on the Fayez S. Sarofim Campus. Each sartorial look in the galleries of antiquities, European, American, modern and contemporary, and design will be presented alongside, and in dialogue with, artworks from MFAH’s permanent collection.
“Louvre Couture” on view at Musée du Louvre in Paris. (handout)
A map will be available to help visitors navigate the journey.
The initial “Louvre Couture” show was housed in the Paris museum’s Department of Decorative Arts and featured more than 100 looks. The Houston sequel includes pieces from the original presentation, plus a few new selects that are unique to MFAH.
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“The Louvre is a very, large palatial building and we just don’t have that,” Gervais explained. “Our galleries are integrated, and we focused on finding things that had a resonance with our own collection. And considered which items could be in conversation with each other.”
She and Strauss made a wish-list with specific MFAH galleries in mind. For some of the more ornate creations, space was a consideration. Other vintage pieces were deemed too delicate for transport.
There were a few instances, Gervais shares, where they were able to secure an alternate look from the same collection that was shown in “Louvre Couture.”
“We are installing works in the Kinder buildings with our modern and contemporary collections,” Strauss said. “That’s another way our version is different from the Louvre.”
Look five from Maria Grazia Chiuri’s 2018-19 collection for Christian Dior. (Courtesy of/Museum of Fine Arts, Houston)
Her favorite installation is a look by Iris van Herpen. The Dutch fashion designer known for her innovative use of technological techniques in haute couture was a perfect match for a series of digitally hand-made works on view in the design galleries.
Gervais was a self-described cheerleader for the pairing of a 17th century Dutch delft, a blue and white ceramic designed to show-off cut tulips, with a blue and white John Galliano dress for Christian Dior.
“This is not just a standalone fashion show in the galleries. The premise is that the clothing speaks to art history, and art history speaks to the clothing,” Strauss said. “To have the show threaded through our permanent galleries allows people to appreciate art mediums in a wholly different way. I know it made me look at each individual dress differently. People who love fashion, or people who don’t necessarily know much about fashion and are just coming to the museum, are going to encounter it all over the place.”
This article originally published at Exclusive: ‘Louvre Couture’ fashion exhibition travels from Paris to Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.