For the first time in its history, the French capital's Louvre Museum opened up its storied arcades on Tuesday to fashion: a catwalk show by the Italian house Salvatore Ferragamo.
Proof enough of the unique setting of the midseason resort collection lay with the celebrity-filled front row - from Freida Pinto to Leighton Meester to Hilary Swank.
The Florence-based house was granted unprecedented access to an impressive 120 metres of the Denon Wing arcade of the building, thanks to its sponsorship of the Louvre's current exhibition of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, Leonardo da Vinci's last painting.
The Louvre is also respectfully tipping its hat to Florence: a city which - like Paris - has been a pole of creativity across the centuries.
But how can Ferragamo - a house that prides itself on being Made in Italy - convincingly show in Paris's most famous museum?
The key was moulding the show to the environment, said the creative director Massimiliano Giornetti, adding that he aimed to integrate French fashion techniques in his work along with the Louvre's aesthetic. "The clothes' light-coloured palette is on purpose and in tune with the Louvre's light coloured stone," he said. * AP
