YOUNG LOUVRE: The Louvre museum has teamed up with designer Agnès Troublé, founder of family-owned French brand agnès b., on a limited-edition capsule collection that turns some of the museum’s lesser-known landscapes into ready-to-wear pieces.
The project is part of the museum’s effort to connect in new ways with the public, particularly younger audiences, with fashion being key.
Troublé’s bond with the Louvre goes back to her childhood. “I fell in the love with the Louvre when I was 12,” she said. She once hoped to attend the École du Louvre to become a curator before going into fashion design.
The collection is titled “J’kiffe le Louvre,” using some French slang. She worked closely with her grandson, Jean Bourbois, to sort through hundreds of artworks before choosing two lesser-known landscape paintings.
Troublé said she sought out unexpected works, and “skipped the Mona Lisa, which is reproduced everywhere,” she said.
Color and light influenced her final choices, from Baroque paintings. The works, one by Claude Lorrain in warm yellows and oranges and another by Nicolas Poussin in soft greens, anchor the capsule of cardigans, scarves, T-shirts and accessories.
The company worked with its longtime French production partners who have expertise in high-definition textile printing to make the detailed garments.
The capsule will be sold for a year in the Louvre’s gift shop, in the museum’s outposts in Abu Dhabi and Japan, and in agnès b. stores worldwide.
“I’m happy to make these paintings travel this way,” she said.
The collaboration is part of a bigger push from the Louvre to work with fashion brands, designers and artists. Instead of slapping its logo on goods, the museum wants to create projects around specific artworks or themes, giving younger shoppers a more approachable way to connect with its collection.
Its first major partnership was with Uniqlo in January, 2021. Since then, British illustrator Luke Edward Hall created a picnic-themed collection of objects, including picnic baskets, inspired by the museum’s gardens. Another project is the book “The Louvre and Its Dogs” from Amigos Forever’s Martin Bethenod released Nov. 7, for example.
The museum plans to ramp up its collaboration strategy with two high-profile partnerships in the pipeline, museum representatives said.
The fashion partnerships will also arrive at a moment of major upgrades to the Carrousel de Louvre’s retail areas, which will soon include a large bookstore, a sculpture shop, refreshed stores, and a new in-house bakery planned for early 2026.