The Rothko Chapel, Houston,
Texas
Mario Sorrenti/for Loro Piana
The Menil Collection, Houston,
Texas
Mario Sorrenti/for Loro Piana
Firmly in the online age of cellphones and social media, it’s tough to keep a secret in 2026. Though in hindsight, perhaps the clues were there all along.
Loro Piana opened a 2,207-square-foot boutique in River Oaks District last October. The Italian fashion house hosted an in-store event and client dinner at March earlier this year to celebrate. And a second exclusive seated soiree took place last month at John and Dominique de Menil’s former residence on San Felipe in River Oaks, which is managed and operated by the Menil Foundation.
Still, Loro Piana’s unveiling of its fall-winter 2026-27 campaign shot at the Rothko Chapel and various Menil Collection spaces and buildings came as a pleasant surprise. The first teaser for “A Day in Houston” dropped on Instagram July 7.
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The Menil Collection, Houston,
Texas
Mario Sorrenti/for Loro Piana
“In a city like Houston, it’s hard to keep these things under wraps,” said Kelly Johnson, chief engagement officer for the Rothko Chapel. “It was a very smooth process and such a pleasure to work with creative individuals to capture the essence of Rothko Chapel, which is notoriously difficult to photograph because of the variations of light and depth of the paintings.”
Some of the 14 artworks by Mark Rothko sustained water damage during Hurricane Beryl in 2024. For the photo shoot, Loro Piana’s creative team, which included photographer Mario Sorrenti, Atelier Franck Durand, and video director Luca Werner, utilized unaffected areas of the chapel.
“We are indeed in the middle of a lengthy restoration and campus expansion. Loro Piana, through the partnership of being onsite with us, in addition to these images, is helping us complete all of that in several ways,” Johnson explained. “They made a contribution to our operation budget in honor of our 55th anniversary.”
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Loro Piana contributed to both the Rothko Chapel’s Opening Spaces capital campaign to preserve the 55-year-old building and expand its north campus, and the Menil Collection ahead of the museum’s 40th anniversary in 2027.
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“They came on board as a supporter of the museum with a donation to the general operating fund,” said Rebecca Rabinow, Director of the Menil Collection. “They’re lead sponsors of our 40th anniversary gala in December 2027, so it’s a multi-year commitment.”
She shared that Loro Piana first approached the Menil in fall 2025 about the possibility of a fashion campaign. Several members of the house’s creative team had previously visited Houston and, by happy accident, found the Menil Collection and its surrounding Montrose neighborhood.
The Menil Collection, Houston,
Texas
Mario Sorrenti/for Loro Piana
“The Menil very rarely collaborates on something at this level. They came to visit and were really intrigued by the museum,” Rabinow added. “In the end, seeing their teams come from England, France and Italy, we were all part of this very well-scheduled, intensive shoot that lasted about a week. Their photographer is a superstar, and the level of creativity and professionalism was as high as it gets.”
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The Rothko Chapel also receives numerous pitches for photo shoots, music videos and events. Johnson says her staff reviews each proposal to determine which best aligns with the space’s mission.
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John and Dominique de Menil established the Menil Foundation to foster greater public understanding and appreciation of art, architecture, culture, religion and philosophy in 1954. The museum’s main building first opened in 1987; admission remains free of charge to date.
The de Menils commissioned Mark Rothko to create a sacred space nearby, on campus, in 1961. The Rothko Chapel opened to the public one decade later.
During the photo shoot in May, Loro Piana used the Rothko Chapel’s interior, the Menil Collection’s main building (including its framing studio), the Menil Drawing Institute and the de Menils’ former residence. Footage of Broken Obelisk, Barnett Newman’s sculpture dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr., is also featured.
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Janet Hobby, board president for the Menil Collection, and Christopher Rothko, son of Mark Rothko and board chair of the Rothko Chapel, make cameos in the campaign.
“Working on this campaign for Loro Piana within the extraordinary de Menils’ landscape was truly inspiring,” said Sorrenti via statement. “The synergy between the collection’s refined elegance and the timeless, art-filled environments created by John and Dominique de Menil was profound. It allowed us to capture a natural, unforced beauty, a quiet dialogue between the clothing and these spaces, that felt both intimate and expansive.”
The project took place in May, two weeks after the Menil Society held its annual spring cocktail party at the former residence for the first time in five years, following renovations.
That site is also where Loro Piana’s “A Day in Houston” campaign begins.
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“All of the magnolia trees were in full bloom,” Rabinow recalled of the shoot. “It smelled heavenly.”