It has long been my tradition to begin each visit to Paris at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Walking through the Tuileries Garden toward this historic wing of the Louvre Palace, home to one of the world’s great design museums, feels like a celebration of Paris itself. Less widely known is that the Musée des Arts de la Mode was established within its walls as a museum in its own right. Its current exhibition, “Look! 40 Years of Fashion at the Museum,” celebrates its 40th anniversary through 40 iconic outfits.
The curators invite visitors, whether devoted fashion lovers or simply curious, to discover the extraordinary craftsmanship, skills, and techniques that transform garments into works of art. The exhibition follows the two lives of a garment: first as a creation to be worn, then as an object to be preserved. From sketches, patterns, and embroidery to runway presentations and fashion photography, it traces the creative process before taking us behind the scenes of the museum.
For me, however, the heart of the exhibition is the breathtaking display of 40 outfits, each recalling an exhibition from the museum’s history. Seen together, they reveal fashion’s expressive power—the ability to transform fabric into sculpture, movement, and spectacle. Equally compelling is the often invisible work of the skilled specialists who document, store, restore, and prepare these fragile objects for display, ensuring that their beauty and stories survive for future generations.
