Cover Photo Courtesy the Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Louvre Couture, which debuted this year at the Louvre Museum in Paris as its first ever fashion exhibition, has arrived at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, where it will be on view through March 15, 2026.
The show places couture garments directly inside the museum’s permanent galleries to create unexpected pairings between fashion and fine art. The Houston presentation includes 36 looks from 23 fashion houses spread across the Antiquities, European, American, Modern and Contemporary, and Design galleries.
The exhibition opens with a look from Karl Lagerfeld’s Métiers d’Art 2018–19 collection for Chanel. First presented at the Temple of Dendur at the Met Museum in New York, the ensemble draws on Egyptian motifs that echo the surrounding antiquities at MFAH.
From there, visitors move through a series of room-by-room pairings that highlight the artistry of contemporary designers in conversation with historical works.
One gallery features Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior gown beside a newly displayed tapestry, its floral details echoing the lily-of-the-valley patterns Christian Dior famously loved.
The MFAH exhibition expands the original Paris edition with pieces from maisons such as Balenciaga, Givenchy, Versace, Louis Vuitton and Vivienne Westwood, alongside work from designers shaping 21st-century fashion, including Jacquemus, Thom Browne, Iris van Herpen and Erdem.
Museum director Gary Tinterow said the collaboration with the Louvre creates “an inspiring dialogue between art and fashion,” adding that curators from both institutions selected pairings that draw out new connections across time, style and technique.
The walk through the Louvre Couture galleries is tear-jerking.
One of the most striking garments on view is a Christian Dior gown designed by John Galliano. The white Spring/Summer 2009 silk organza, lace and embroidery dress opens to reveal intricate blue detailing beneath the skirt, complemented by the “Tulipière” brought from the Louvre.
Seeing these pieces in person after only viewing them through livestreams or photographs felt surreal. They were reminiscent of a moment from the Netflix series 7 Days Out, which featured Chanel’s Spring-Summer 2018 Haute Couture show, when someone said, “the vast majority of people will never get to see these, touch them or even be in the same room as them.”
With couture shows typically only sending invites to celebrities, fashion editors and writers, and couture clients, Louvre Couture proves that world-class fashion doesn’t have to be oceans away.
An exhibition like this isn’t just a cultural milestone but a reminder of the global conversations the city is already capable of joining.
The experience highlights Houston’s deserved recognition as a fashion city. Houston has the creativity, culture and streetwear identity to stand among them.
Whether you come for the art, the craftsmanship or the dream of seeing couture up close, the show offers something rare. It is a chance to stand inches from garments that shaped fashion history and to imagine the creative future Houston can continue to build.
Tickets to the exhibit are available on the MFAH website.
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