Chiara Mastroianni, Laetitia Casta, Virginie Efira, Keira Knightley, David and Victoria Beckham were some of the stars that flocked to the Grand Dîner du Louvre in the Cour Marly on Tuesday, March 4. The internal courtyard had been transformed into a grandiose banquet hall spread over three levels. All the major luxury houses like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, Gucci and Balenciaga were there for this unprecedented event that had been organized to open Paris Fashion Week and coincide with the successful "Louvre Couture" exhibition, which, since January 24, has brought together fashion and decorative objects for the first time in the museum's decorative arts department.

The sponsors, dressed in gala outfits ("black tie," specified the invitation), also mingled from table to table − in particular the sponsor of the evening (and of the Louvre Couture exhibition), Visa Infinite, which was credited on the menu and whose logo was displayed under the pyramid where the afterparty took place. For months, the museum's management had been planning every detail of the evening's festivities, from the food list drawn up by three-Michelin-starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic, which was neither too rich nor too meager, and featured the season's first asparagus; to the decor, tables adorned with seasonal flowers like buttercups, poppies and anemones, chosen by florist Stéphane Chapelle.

The Louvre is used to prestigious parties. The one organized in June 2024 with the jewellery brand Bulgari to coincide with the exhibition of the Torlonia collection of ancient Roman sculptures left the guests stunned. Greeted by harpists, the lucky guests, including fashionistas and aristocrats, enjoyed dishes by chef Yannick Alléno. The following month, the chef Alain Ducasse concocted a beautiful meal under Ieoh Ming Pei's glass pyramid for a security-heavy evening bringing together heads of state and royalty, just before the opening of the Olympic Games.

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