In anticipation of Fashion Week, the facetious fashion critic and novelist strolls through the Louvre to review its collections, sifting through fashion codes. This thick, hilarious book is an unusual work of art, conceived as if the world’s most visited museum were a catwalk… It’s not just a question of style, but also of the way we look at works of art, and the way they look back at us. — Claire Lefebvre, LA VOIX DU NORD and Nord éclair

Thought you knew everything there was to know about the masterpieces on display at the Louvre? Passionate journalist Sophie Fontanel takes an amusing look at the famous Parisian museum. From the Mona Lisa to the great paintings of the Italian Renaissance and Goya’s portraits of infants, she builds bridges between centuries-old paintings and the catwalks of the greatest couturiers in the style of a fashion critic. A 300-page masterpiece that heralds with panache the first first fashion exhibition at the Louvre. – Tiphaine Menon, “5 most beautiful books to gift this fall”, Paris Match

This fashion enthusiast offers us a beautiful book, rich in abundant iconographyphy. The process is as simple as it is ingenious. Louvre with the fashionista’s eye. In other words, admire every detail as if it were a haute couture of a haute couture or ready-to-wear or ready-to-wear collection. Clothing and and accessories are scrutinized by a seasoned fashion editor. – Sandrine Poissonnier, Paris Normandie

Drawing on her encyclopedic knowledge of clothes and their designers, she delights us with her reflections, memories and unexpected connections. […] An unusual way to delve into art history and celebrate beauty in all its forms. Makes you want to strip off for your next visit to the museum. – Amandine Schmitt, L’OBS

A light and well-documented walk-through. – Libération

Pleasant and informative. – Prima

Sophie Fontanel’s mind [is] mischievous… she weaves links between eras that suddenly reveal themselves. We smile, we nod, the references collide and hit the nail on the head. We’ll be savoring this parade for months to come. – F. F., avantages

A fashion lover walks through the Louvre Museum and describes what she sees…

“Everyone visits the world’s most famous museum with who they are. Our eyes, seemingly wandering at random, are drawn to what they recognize. An archaeologist will pay attention to the buildings, a hairdresser to the hairstyles, a young girl to the puppies, toys, and monsters, a hunter to the game, a horse rider to the horses… Of course, this particular interest complements a more general one; one does not exclude the other. But how fascinating is this mindset that opens, as if with a letter opener slipped into an envelope, the mystery of works of art.

I am a fashion critic. My job is to look at clothes at the beginning of their life, that is, at that very precise moment when they walk down a runway, appearing for the first time. So, it is as a fashion critic that I embarked, at the Louvre’s request, on a long wander through this museum, which I now know, if not all its nooks and crannies, then at least all its hems, belts, trimmings, all the ruffles on sleeves… In short, all the clothes and accessories once immortalized in a work of art.”—Sophie Fontanel