Fashion and Style

The Louvre Turns to Merch


PARIS — Can face masks and T-shirts save the Louvre? Probably not, but maybe they can help keep the museum’s name alive while its doors stay shut.

In normal times, the Louvre is one of the most visited museums in the world: 9.6 million people walked its halls in 2019. But the coronavirus has deprived it of foreign tourists and government decrees closed it down twice for nearly six months last year, a loss of €90 million (about $108 million) in revenue, according to the Louvre. Since last March, the museum, along with other French cultural institutions, has remained shut indefinitely. (It opened last year from early July to the end of October.)

“We need to find new ways to make money,” said Adel Ziane, director of external relations for the Louvre. “The Covid crisis has made it more urgent than ever to diversify and make the most of the Louvre name.”

One unidentified bidder paid €80,000 ($96,600) to be able to witness, in person, the process of the Mona Lisa being taken out of its case for its annual inspection.

In total, the auction raised over €2.3 million ($2.8 million). “Bidders from all over the world came together to show their support,” Jean-Luc Martinez, director of the Louvre, said. “The desire for the Louvre is now more than ever alive.”

Cozying up to popular culture is not new for the Louvre, which welcomes — often at stiff rental fees — filmmakers, videographers, photographers, fashion designers, artists.

For two nights in 2018, Beyoncé and Jay-Z took over the galleries, staircases, corridors, and main courtyard of the Louvre to produce a music video that has been watched more than 200 million times on YouTube.

More recently, the makers of the Netflix series “Lupin” rented the museum for five days and nights. And Louis Vuitton, because of its status as a major donor to the Louvre, has an exclusive arrangement that gives it access to various museum spaces for its shows, which have taken place in the outdoor Cour Carrée and the glass-roofed Cour Marly (the location for the next one, to be revealed digitally on March 10, remains to be seen).

It’s all about the buzz and the bottom line; the fees are negotiable.

“The cost of the museum depends on the project,” said Mr. Ziane. “Is it day or night? How may galleries? Do you want the Mona Lisa? Do you want an aerial shot of the Pyramid? The prices can go quite high.”

In the meantime, those who want to don Mona Lisa on their face, can buy a “Monna Pop” face mask with 16 images of her face in bright pop-art colors on the Boutique de Musées site for €9.90.

The website proclaims, “Cover your mouth and nose with style!”



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