Louis Vuitton and The Frick Collection are entering a major new partnership, announced just days before the House presents its Cruise 2027 collection tomorrow, May 20th, inside the Frick’s historic first-floor galleries on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. More than a runway event, the three-year collaboration signals a deeper exchange between fashion, architecture, scholarship, and museum culture.
Timed with the museum’s recent reopening, the partnership positions the Frick not simply as a backdrop for fashion but as an active site for research, public programming, and contemporary cultural dialogue.
A cultural sponsorship built around research, exhibitions, and public access
Beginning in 2026, Louis Vuitton will serve as a principal supporter of the Frick Collection through 2028, funding exhibitions, educational initiatives, and expanded visitor access. The partnership includes support for three major exhibitions, the continuation of the museum’s free monthly evening programme, and a new curatorial research position dedicated to public engagement.
Starting in June 2026, the museum’s celebrated after-hours programme will relaunch as Louis Vuitton First Fridays, offering free evening access to the galleries alongside talks, performances, and live music through May 2027.
Among the upcoming exhibitions supported by the House are Siena: The Art of Bronze, 1450–1500, opening in autumn 2026, and Painting with Fire: Susanne de Court and the Art of Enamel, the first exhibition devoted to the French Renaissance enameller, scheduled for spring 2027.
The initiative also introduces a new two-year curatorial appointment. Scholar Yifu Liu will assume the role of Louis Vuitton Curatorial Research Associate, focusing on artistic exchange between Europe and China during the eighteenth century, with particular attention to porcelain, decorative arts, and fashion history.
Axel Rüger, Director of the Frick Collection, described the collaboration as “a meaningful and sustaining” partnership aligned with the institution’s mission to provide “cultural experiences of the highest quality.”
Louis Vuitton Cruise 2027 enters the Frick’s historic galleries
Tomorrow’s Cruise 2027 presentation by Nicolas Ghesquière will mark the first fashion show ever staged inside the Frick Collection’s landmark first-floor rooms. The event follows the museum’s extensive renovation and reopening in April 2025, led by Selldorf Architects.
Long recognised for situating Cruise collections within architecturally charged destinations, Louis Vuitton now brings its runway into one of New York’s last surviving Gilded Age mansions. Previous presentations have taken place at the Louvre Museum, the Salk Institute, and the Miho Museum.
According to Louis Vuitton CEO Pietro Beccari, the upcoming show reflects Ghesquière’s ongoing pursuit of “deeper connections between fashion, architecture, and culture.” Within galleries historically associated with Old Master paintings and decorative arts, contemporary silhouettes will enter into direct conversation with centuries of artistic history.
For Louis Vuitton, the partnership further strengthens the House’s longstanding relationship with architecture, exhibitions, and the arts — extending its cultural presence far beyond the runway itself.
