The supreme works of art most-prized by the Louvre are displayed on Uniqlo Tees.
From the vast collection of the Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) in Paris, the “city of art,” important works in history and art history become a special collection only for UNIQLO.
Text courtesy of Musée du Louvre; photos courtesy of UNIQLO Global.
The Musée du Louvre and global apparel retailer UNIQLO announce on 28 January 2021 a four-year partnership with the launch of a first creative collection inspired by the museum’s masterpieces and support organized in aid of free access to the museum.
As the first initiative of this new partnership, the UNIQLO T-shirt (UT) brand will launch the Musée du Louvre Collection, available from 4 February in UNIQLO stores and on boutique.louvre.fr, the Louvre new online shop dedicated to showcasing the museum’s collaborations. The men’s line was created by the prominent British graphic designer Peter Saville, who is best known for the revolutionizing record cover designs he created in the early 80’s, notably those for Joy Division and New Order. His sophisticated graphic approach to the new collection is based primarily on the inventory number system that museums use to catalogue artworks. Little known to the general public, inventory numbers are essential for museums, not only because they allow the identification of an object in the museum’s collections, but they also bear witness to the institution’s acquisition policy.
Additionally UNIQLO will launch a women’s line of UTs featuring Louvre works with a focus on the female form as a universal message for diversity.
About The Collection
Musée du Louvre: Blossoms of Diversity
Numerous works of art displayed in the Louvre museum feature women as their central theme. From these works of art created by the masters of aesthetics, you can admire their versatile appearances in multi-layered ways. In the past, enjoying art used to be accessible for only a select few, but now it can be part of our daily lives. This is a special collection which celebrates this blissfulness.
Musée du Louvre: Art and Logic by Peter Saville
Peter Saville is a legendary designer and art director for music and fashion. “I was inspired to discover that the world’s most famous work of art, the ‘Mona Lisa,’ is known at the Louvre simply as Painting No.779 － this is my theme for the Art and Logic collection
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As of spring 2021, UNIQLO will be taking over the sponsorship of the Free Saturday Nights program that began in January 2019. Designed as unique, festive occasions, these night openings seek to encourage new visitors to learn about the Louvre and its artworks in a more relaxed environment. For this purpose, the museum’s opening hours are extended on the first Saturday of each month from 6 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. Visitors are invited to wander through the three wings of the Louvre, discovering masterpieces of art history and the little-known corners of the former palace of the kings of France.
The Free Saturday Nights have been a great success ; 160,000 people participated in 2019, mainly families and people working in the Paris region. Although temporarily suspended due to the current pandemic, this program is expected to resume its usual rhythm on the first Saturday of each month in due course.
The partnership between the Louvre and UNIQLO also includes support of the ‘Mini-Discovery Tours’, a new format launched by the Louvre in July 2020. Mostly dedicated to families, these 20-minute-long guided tours will take place on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Additionally, special events will be organized every month to allow first-time and returning visitors to further enjoy the museum’s offerings.
UNIQLO will expand its collaboration collection with new items until 2024.
The collection will be available at the UNIQLO website and in stores starting 08 February 2021.
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UNIQLO Engagement with Art
UNIQLO has partnered with some of the world’s preeminent museums to deepen public interest in art through free admission programs, collaboration merchandise, events, and other initiatives. Listed below are key partnerships that UNIQLO has formed in this regard:
- May 2013 – present : MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), New York City
- Mar. 2016 – Dec. 2020 : Tate Modern, London
- Sept. 2017 – present : MFA (Museum of Fine Arts), Boston
- Mar. 2018 – present : MACBA (Museum of Contemporary Art), Barcelona
