Lancôme unveils collection inspired by the Louvre’s sculptural masterpieces
The Musée du Louvre and Lancôme have joined forces on a collection of skincare and makeup inspired by nine masterpieces of sculpture and the hues of the museum.
The new collection, dubbed Lancôme x Louvre, was announced with an accompanying campaign shot at the iconic art museum and featuring the faces synonymous with the brand, Zendaya, Aya Nakamura, Amanda Seyfried and He Cong. The four powerful women ‘incarnate the stylistic codes and myths’ of iconic sculptures, which reside at the Louvre.
Françoise Lehmann, Lancôme Global Brand President, said: "This unprecedented creative partnership with the Louvre is the cultural reflection of this conviction and our mission for beauty at Lancôme. By pursuing the dialogue between our French brand with a history spanning some 90 years and the most iconic temple of art, we want to continue to draw on our artistic heritage to open new beauty horizons for women today and celebrate the fact that beauty is in perpetual motion."
Since its founding in 1793, the Musée du Louvre was designed as a solace for artists to observe, learn and become inspired by the artworks. Today, this tradition continues, as a living museum with an endless source of inspiration for all creators.
Lancôme drew inspiration from the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, Corinne, the Diana of Gabii, the Nymph with a Scorpion, Echo, Hygeia, the Venus of Arles and the Sleeping Hermaphrodite. Each one of these sculptures, by its story and the myth it represents, inspired Lisa Eldridge, Global Creative Director of Lancôme Makeup, to create this makeup collection.
Laurence des Cars, President and Director of the Musée du Louvre, commented: "I am delighted by this debut collaboration with Lancôme, which highlights with incredible talent the diversity of forms of beauty found in the Louvre collections – a dialogue between cultures and civilisations that transcends time and geography. Campaign ambassadresses like the Venus de Milo, the Nymph with a Scorpion and the Diana of Gabii are an opportunity for us to transport iconic and inspiring classical images, and to compare and contrast them with contemporary images and canons.
"The history of art and beauty, the 'making' of beauty, the quest for beauty, are intimately linked. Pop culture – the culture of moving images, advertising, social media and our daily lives – is often inspired by these timeless images and representations, sometimes very scholarly, sometimes very ancient… With this collaboration, the Louvre as a modern-day artistic space is contributing to the rewriting of beauty in the present."