Fashion is always happening in Paris. More than a seasonal affair, the French capital lives and breathes couture, design, and artistic expression all year round. As a prominent hub for creativity and craftsmanship, Paris continues to curate exhibitions that celebrate the aesthetics of fashion. This season, several stand-out shows invite visitors on very different but equally captivating journeys.
Azzedine Alaïa, Thierry Mugler: Two Decades of Artistic Affinities
Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, until August 31, 2025
Step into the refined intimacy of the former Azzedine Alaïa’s Parisian house, and you’ll find not just fashion on display, but a dialogue between two masters who reshaped the female silhouette in the 1980s. Though their styles appeared radically different—Mugler the flamboyant showman with futuristic visions, Alaïa the quiet perfectionist sculpting the body with precision—this exhibition reveals a mutual admiration that ran deep.
Their paths crossed in 1979, and what followed was a decade-long exchange of ideas, influence, and encouragement. Mugler helped launch Alaïa’s career, inviting him to design tuxedos for his show and later supporting him as he ventured onto the international stage. The exhibition presents over 40 Thierry Mugler pieces from Alaïa’s personal collection, displayed in conversation with Alaïa’s own iconic garments. Shoulder-padded tuxedos, second-skin dresses, satin trouser suits, and sweeping evening gowns conjure a world of cinematic grandeur, rooted in technical mastery. Their silhouettes—broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, sensuous—recall not just the glamour of Hollywood but also the legacies of Balenciaga and Dior.
What makes this exhibition especially poignant is its emotional undercurrent. It’s a tribute not just to two designers, but to their friendship, loyalty, and creative symbiosis. Their shared vision lives on in these garments—pieces that, decades later, still radiate strength, sensuality, and the kind of artistry that only comes from genuine collaboration.
Golden Thread: From North Africa to the Far East
Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, runs until July 6, 2025
From Morocco to Japan, across deserts, empires, and dynasties, this exhibition is a radiant journey through millennia of textile artistry. It opens with awe-inspiring displays of raw gold nuggets, laying the foundation for a story that spans 7,000 years. From the Black Sea’s earliest appliqué ornaments to shimmering brocades of imperial China, visitors witness how gold—once hammered into filaments or spun with silk—became a symbol of divine favor, royal authority, and exceptional craftsmanship.
Particularly mesmerizing are 10th-century kaftans from Morocco, velvet bindallis from Ottoman Turkey, and satin wedding gowns from 19th-century Egypt, each glinting with elaborate gold embroidery. These garments not only express beauty but also map the migration of techniques, materials, and styles across centuries and civilizations. The exhibit crescendos with a spectacular display of haute couture by Chinese designer Guo Pei, whose creations bridge the ancient and the avant-garde. Her dresses—one famously worn by Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala—stand as modern testaments to the enduring allure of gold in fashion. With thousands of sequins, Swarovski crystals, and hand-stitched embellishments, her work embodies the same patience, skill, and reverence found in ancient textile traditions.
More than just an aesthetic spectacle, “Golden Thread” is a profound meditation on the global language of luxury, status, and identity. It invites visitors to see clothing not just as adornment, but as a cultural artifact, woven with memory, meaning, and legacy.
Louvre Couture: Fashion Wears History
Louvre, runs until August 24, 2025
The Louvre’s collection is, without question, iconic—its masterpieces etched into the minds of those who frequent its vast halls. But for visitors who think they’ve seen it all, this summer brings a bold new perspective: fashion as a lens through which to rediscover the museum’s historic treasures.
“Louvre Couture: Art and Fashion” reimagines the museum’s most celebrated decorative arts by placing haute couture in dialogue with centuries-old craftsmanship. In a show curated by Senior Heritage Curator Olivier Gabet and Marie Brimicombe, more than one hundred couture looks from 45 of the world’s most influential designers—including Alexander McQueen, Iris van Herpen, Balenciaga, Chanel, Givenchy, Dior, Vivienne Westwood, and Jean Paul Gaultier—appear alongside rare artifacts from Byzantium to the 19th century. The result is nothing short of alchemy.
Walking through the exhibition is like moving through a living catwalk of art history. Nathalie Crinière’s scenography invites viewers to wander freely through the Louvre’s Department of Decorative Arts, where couture pieces are juxtaposed with medieval reliquaries, Renaissance tapestries, 18th-century period rooms, and Second Empire grandeur. A sculptural piece by Iris van Herpen echoes the lines of Gothic architecture; John Galliano’s sumptuous designs converse with ornate 18th-century furniture; Demna’s Balenciaga silhouette stands armored in aesthetic conversation with a medieval cuirass.
This exhibition is not about dressing up the Louvre—it’s about unveiling how deeply fashion and art have always spoken to each other. The links on display are sometimes scholarly, sometimes poetic, always surprising. A jacket from Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel Spring/Summer 2019 collection, embroidered by Lesage, reproduces the decorative pattern of an 18th-century chest of drawers by Mathieu Criaerd. Hubert de Givenchy’s 1990 silk damask trouser suit reflects the craftsmanship of André-Charles Boulle’s marquetry cabinet, both majestic in their materials and meticulous detail. Some designers, like Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior, have drawn directly from Renaissance painting or the silhouettes of ancient robes. Others find more abstract connections: Dries Van Noten and Marine Serre riff on medieval tapestry; Schiaparelli’s modern reliquaries sparkle with echoes of religious art; Alexander McQueen channels the macabre opulence of historic European courts.
Louvre Couture offers both, in abundance. More than an exhibition, it’s a revelation: a way to see couture as more than design, and the Louvre’s masterpieces as more than relics. Together, they shimmer with new meaning.
