Musée des Arts Décoratifs – serie

The retrospective on the work of couturier Thierry Mugler (1948-2022) at the Brooklyn Museum includes more than 150 costumes designed between 1977 and 2014, along with many unpublished archive documents and sketches. It showcases the multiple worlds of this one-of-a-kind artistic figure—a visionary fashion designer, director, photographer and perfumer—through a display of his prêt-à-porter and haute couture silhouettes.Thierry Mugler staged the most spectacular fashion shows of his time. He dressed many celebrities, including Diana Ross, David Bowie, Lady Gaga, Liza Minnelli, Céline Dion and Kim Kardashian. He created the costumes for many of Mylène Farmer’s and Beyoncé’s tours and videos. A photographer and director, he filmed clips as well as short films starring actresses like Isabelle Huppert and Juliette Binoche.This book was published in conjunction with the exhibition and is organised into several main sections. It reproduces a selection of full-page photographs, most of which have not been published before, by the greatest artists who worked with Mugler throughout his career—Helmut Newton, Peter Knapp, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, David LaChapelle, Stéphane Sednaoui, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Jean-Paul Goude, Pierre & Gilles, Patrice Stable, Inez & Vinoodh, to name just a few. It also includes views of the exhibition layout and displays.Prior tour dates and locations:Kunsthal Rotterdam, Netherlands - 10.13.2019 - 03.08.2020Hypo-Kunsthalle Munich, Germany - 05.25.2020 - 04.13.2021Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris - 09.30.2021 - 04.24.2022Text in English and French.

The jewellery department at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris comprises some 3,500 pieces and is the only national collection of its kind in France. This book presents bijouterie and joaillerie masterpieces from this high-profile collection which ranges from the Middle Ages to the contemporary period and shines a particular spotlight on the 18th century and the age of Art Nouveau.Daytime or evening jewellery and art jewellery pieces in the form of tiaras, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pendants, hair or tie pins, rings and stomacher brooches illustrate the boundless creativity of designers.The greatest artists are represented: Sandoz, Vever, Falize, Boucheron, Lalique, Fouquet and Gaillard for Art Nouveau, Raymond Templier and Jean Després for Art Deco, Georges Braque, Jean Lurçat, Line Vautrin, Jean Schlumberger, Torun, Dinh Van, Jonemann and Claude Lalanne for the post-war period, and a number of contemporary designers. The collection also features pieces by the great jewellery houses: Cartier, Boucheron, Chanel, Van Cleef & Arpels and, more recently, JAR.This richly illustrated book accompanies the display in the Galerie des Bijoux at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which features the collection’s highlights.

Created in 1936, following the bequest of Count Moïse de Camondo to the French State in memory of his son Nissim, who died for France in 1917, the Musée Nissim de Camondo houses a rich collection of 18th-century art objects. Reflecting the donor's taste for this period of French art, the collection includes a significant number of pieces of furniture and objects embellished with gilded bronze ornaments. Gathered with incredible foresight by Moïse de Camondo between 1890 and 1935, these gilded bronzes reflect the evolution of styles during the 18th century, from the fantasies of rocaille, the severity of the return to the antique model, to the delicacy of the Louis XVI style. This catalogue presents a selection of 30 furniture bronzes, all masterpieces. Signed Osmond, attributed to Jean-Louis Prieur, François Rémond or Jean-Noël Turpin, they testify to the expertise of Parisian gilders in the second half of the 18th century, as well as to their collaboration with other trades - draftsmen, sculptors, founders, goldsmiths and watchmakers. The gilded bronzes in the Musée Nissim de Camondo offer a highly varied typology, bearing witness to their diverse uses and fully participating in the project of "reconstituting an 18th-century artistic residence" so dear to the Count de Camondo.

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs has maintained close ties with Christofle since the second half of the 19th century. It is celebrating the goldsmith's creations and expertise with the largest exhibition ever dedicated to this factory, which has a rich history spanning almost two hundred years.Since its foundation in the 1830s, this lineage of silversmiths, created by Charles Christofle and continued by Henri Bouilhet, has transformed the lines and decorations of silver to adapt them to everyday life. In collaboration with the greatest designers such as Luc Lanel, Gio Ponti, Andrée Putman and Karl Lagerfeld, Christofle is an artistic laboratory that revolutionises traditional goldsmithing by renewing its uses and adorning it with unprecedented colours and decorations.The rich iconography of the exhibition catalogue invites us to discover some of the most remarkable pieces. In doing so, it transports us into the splendour of great restaurants and palaces such as the Ritz, and legendary trains, liners and planes, such as the Orient-Express, the Normandie and the Concorde. Moreover, it brings us into places of political power, all equipped by Christofle, ambassador in France and abroad of the art of living and luxury "à la française".Through 13 thematic essays divided into four chapters, this book traces the extraordinary destiny of the House of Christofle. Sixty-one notes cover the history of the decorative arts through goldsmithing, from historicism to Japonism, from Art Nouveau to Art Deco, from 1950s design to the most contemporary.

In spring 2026, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs will present a unique exhibition on clothing at the Thai court, tracing the relationship between local textile traditions and haute couture, as well as the advent of fashion as a marker of Thai culture internationally and its essential role in the kingdom's diplomacy. This exhibition will be presented in celebration of the 170th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and France, and the 340th anniversary of the first official contact between Siam and France. The catalogue published at this occasion highlights the figure of Queen Sirikit, a national icon who recently passed away. Passionate about fashion, she played a central role in modernising court attire, presenting her creations during official trips with King Rama IX. From the 1960s onwards, Queen Sirikit maintained close relations with leading French and European fashion houses. By collaborating for more than thirty years with Pierre Balmain and then with Erik Mortensen, his successor at the head of the fashion house, she reinvented Thai royal elegance, preserving its heritage while ensuring its international appeal. Committed to preserving traditions, she also worked tirelessly to safeguard her country's textile arts and crafts. The book brings together nearly two hundred outfits, accessories, royal objects, photographs, fabric samples, and embroidery (from Lesage and Princess Sirivannavari), and offers a unique glimpse into Thailand's rich tradition of craftsmanship in textiles, jewellery, and accessories. It highlights the use of fashion as a form of cultural diplomacy that works through image, craftsmanship, and materials.Text in English and French.