Hello everyone. Today I want to talk about a new exhibition I visited at the Louvre during our trip to Paris. I came with my friend, who already lives here and she mentioned it was very crowded. Maybe visiting such an exhibition on a Saturday is not the best idea, but since she works during the week, it’s not possible for her. When we were students, we could go in the morning or afternoon and it was really enjoyable. But now our time was limited. So we went on a Saturday with all the crowds.
We queued up and after waiting for a while, we entered the exhibition. There were various works displayed, but it seemed to me that these were already there and only clothes were added in between, like Versace's 97-98 collection, the autumn-winter collection, for example.
Then we moved to the large halls. I had different expectations when I saw these clothes in videos. What I was expecting were real haute couture collections, especially from the 20th century. However, most of the items here were modern and very few were true haute couture from the 20th century. There was even a dress from the 2025 collection. So, actually you could see more haute couture designs in the Museum of Decorative Arts than at the Louvre. Because what you expect at the Louvre isn’t really here. The exhibition feels like something very different and I was a bit disappointed. But I decided to continue exploring.
The next hall was a bit nicer. Some pieces were really well placed here and harmonized with the environment. Why they were placed this way, I really don’t know. There was a haute couture collection from 1997. In any case, coming to the Louvre to see this collection isn’t so bad. Because the Louvre galleries are already beautiful. But mostly, you pay more attention to the beauty of these halls than the clothes. The idea behind the exhibition was to showcase works related to the sources of inspiration that designers used to create the clothes. For example, if a piece of clothing was inspired by old furniture, old furniture would be displayed next to it. There is this logic. But still, I wouldn’t call this an exhibition. I think these are just some clothes integrated into the Louvre collections.
It felt like we were playing Pokémon because we had to visit every corner of the Louvre. In some halls, there were no clothes at all, while in others, there were a few. In fact, finding collections before their historical time might be more interesting than haute couture. So, what was more interesting than the clothes were the old pieces in the halls. There was also the 2022 haute couture collection, like Louis Vuitton's 2020-2021 collection. Many modern collections were featured.
We finished our visit. The museum was about to close, around 30 minutes later. We went outside. However, I have some thoughts about the directions inside such a large place like the Louvre. For such a big museum, I think the exhibition’s directions were quite insufficient. There are old signs, but they don’t provide enough information about this exhibition. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out which way to go and in the end, we found ourselves taking wrong paths several times. Also, there are no numbers next to the clothes indicating which collection they belong to, which can lead to confusion. But still, the general idea is really nice. I mean combining historical sculptures with haute couture collections is a great idea.
It’s clear they wanted to find similar motifs, make everything harmonious and create something extraordinary, but there are many shortcomings in this exhibition that I noticed. That’s why it’s not my 100% favorite exhibition. On our way out, we noticed a dress from the haute couture collection we first saw at the entrance. But the directions were so confusing that I’m not even sure if we saw all the clothes that were on display.
While going down the stairs, we saw the first dress we had seen at the entrance again. When we tried to go back inside, the security guards didn’t let us in because they said we needed to reach the last hall, but we didn’t know how to get there and realized we hadn’t actually reached that hall. So, it wasn’t a very satisfying experience.
In any case returning to the Louvre is always enjoyable because it's such a beautiful place. It’s hard to keep track of how many times you’ve visited because every time you see different halls and it’s always lovely. The museum was closing and the crowd was starting to grow. Walking around Paris, right in the heart of the city, is also fantastic.
The plan for our second day was simple: we were going to have coffee and take a walk outside. Right now, we stopped by Milít, where every Sunday there’s an antique market, selling old items. They even have fossil stones. We even had an old iron at home, just like the ones here. It’s interesting to see Vienna-style furniture. Also, I saw Mondrian’s motifs. I know they were used in one of Loran’s famous collections. I think we saw them in a museum. The sunny weather really changes everything, the outdoors was lovely! Even the birds were chirping, it was so pleasant.
Then we walked down a very luxurious street and the prices were extremely high. But who wouldn’t want to live here? It’s a wonderful place. My friend was complaining about the lack of sunlight because she comes from a sunny southern region where everything is beautiful. But for me, it’s not a problem since I’m used to the gray sky. Of course, when the sun comes out, everything looks much better. Sometimes it even gets hot and I end up sweating as soon as I dress. I never know what to wear!
At this point there’s an amazing view of Paris, especially when looking at the Eiffel Tower. Everyone is taking photos. There’s also a very interesting building here, one of the most photographed places in Paris.
I want to express my admiration for Parisian architecture once again. It’s such a unique place. I think Paris is a city that you either love or don’t like at all. The buildings are really beautiful because they’re made with stones from the Ottoman period and even in the gray sky, they have a beautiful and Gothic atmosphere. Of course, when the sun comes out, everything becomes much more impressive. Also, the churches in Paris are very interesting.
We walked while admiring the beauty of Paris. Finally, we reached a small green area, a little park, where we had lunch with a great view.