Overcrowded Louvre Launches €270 Million Design Competition
After weeks of mounting tensions and a sudden staffstrikethat left thousands queued outside its gates, theMusée du Louvrehas launched an international architectural competition ahead of its much-needed restoration.
The Parisian powerhouse opened the competition on June 27 with aims to expand its storied space and ease its visitor congestion through a newly designed entrance and exhibition space for one of its prized centerpieces, the 'Mona Lisa.' Five finalists will be decided by a 21-person jury in October, with the overall winner announced early next year.
To prevent massive crowds at the museum's current access points, a new entrance will be planted on the museum's eastern facade, though Unlike I.M. Pei's iconic glass-and-steel pyramid, the museum is seeking proposals that will blend seamlessly with the facade's 17th-century classical colonnades.
Breathing room for 'Mona Lisa' is also on the table. Set beneath the Cour Courée courtyard, da Vinci's most famed piece will call a new, 33,000-square-foot, subterraneangalleryits home. The space will offer require a separate timed-entry access from the main galleries, in an effort to thin constant crowds that overwhelm the painting's current room.
The initiative follows growing concerns over the Louvre's aging infrastructure and its ability to manage its nearly 9 million annual visitors. According to an internal letter from director Laurence des Cars, leakd byLe Parisien, much of the building suffers from water leaks and unstable climate conditions, putting the collection at risk.
In January, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged plans for a five-year renovation plan, which he dubbed a 'New Renaissance' for the institution. With a projected cost of €400 million EUR ($417 million USD) for the overhaul,Le Monde, who first reported the €10 EUR ticket hike for non-European Union visitors, speculates that the funding for the expansion will be supplemented by the uptick.
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Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
At Paris Fashion Week, accessories were more personal than anything else
A few weeks ago, I was bound to crutches after fracturing the neck of my femur while running a half-marathon with Image's fashion director at large, Keyla Marquez. This happened right before Paris Fashion Week for the men's spring/summer 2026 season, which we both had plans to attend, and I was left with two options: resign myself to a Frida Kahlo summer, where I would work, make art and take visitors while injured from bed, or go to Paris on the crutches and hope for the best. I picked the latter, because I am insane. The idea of crutches on cobblestone streets was comical, ridiculous and potentially dangerous. The idea of crutches during fashion week was criminal. As I hobbled around the city chasing the fashion week shuttle to the next show, or glacially made my way up two flights of marble stairs in an opera house to see the charming Bode presentation without causing further damage, the hollow metal crutches rubbed against the studs on my leather belt, or made it impossible to carry my belongings in anything but a vintage Prada fanny pack. Keyla dubbed this version of me 'extreme sports Juju.' The crutches were front and center in every experience this past week — the first thing I thought of, the first thing people noticed. They were a nuisance and an obstacle, yes, but also a punchline and an ice breaker. Both the French and the fashion people looked at me like, 'Girl, you good?' No, guys, I was not good. But the crutches were, for better or worse, my accessory this season, which made me hyper-aware of the accessories on the runway too. A seemingly small item despite being considered extra can completely transform how — and in my case if — you move through the world. I was obsessed, Baader-Meinhof-ed out, and in Paris last week everywhere I looked I saw accessories first and everything else second. There was the practical, the purely aesthetic, the absurdist combination of them all. At 424's runway show, the audience's accessories defied weather. Despite it being near 90 degrees at the Monnaie De Paris, attendees showed up in fur stoles and leather chaps over jeans. L.A. stylist Marquise Miller wore intrecciato Bottega Veneta sunglasses to shield himself from the beating sun. An immaculately accessorized fashion boi from Toronto who wore gauzy scarves and rings on every finger accused me of faking my injury. The cult L.A. brand's creative director Guillermo Andrade framed the collection around the greatest accessory of all: the car. More specifically, every generation of the Porsche 911. The show kicked off with a line of Porsches throttling into the museum's courtyard, with a gaggle of models including actor Will Poulter and Solange's son Julez Smith pouring out of the cars (Julez's grandmother, Ms. Tina Knowles, was in the audience supporting her grandson). For Andrade, the car is more than an accessory though — it's a way of life. 'When I'm at home I spend a bunch of time in my car,' Andrade told me after the show. 'The car is my first experience of independence, of being free.' The last look, one of my favorites, showed an older model with bedazzled Porsche keys on a carabiner clip attached to slim leather pants. The first day of PFW was also Louis Vuitton Men's day — the accessories final boss. The show was a glittering spectacle, as has become expected of Pharrell Williams' tenure at the house. A chorus of screaming fans became a soundtrack to the pre-show moments, announcing the arrival of each celebrity sitting front row, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z. This season's collection was inspired by modern Indian sartorialism, says Louis Vuitton. Held at the Centre Pompidou, the show's set was created in collaboration with Studio Mumbai, an Indian architectural firm, and imagined as a life-size game of Snakes and Ladders. The show had stadium-style seating, and sitting on the third step up, I questioned if this was going to be it: the time I fell on my ass in front of Bradley Cooper and Pusha T. But luckily, I survived long enough to see new versions of the Speedy P9 bag in painted stripes and gold embroidery, and a crocodile steamer workwear bag in a patent, deep blue indigo. There were the Louis Vuitton trunks, of course, being rolled by models in workwear-inspired gear down the runway. Some versions were encrusted with jewels in paisley patterns, taking on an antique feel, others were clear and hot pink. The thing I can't stop thinking about, though, is the slouchy Louis Vuitton yoga bag in a violet hue, styled with a yoga mat of the same color. Seen on a model wearing green cargos, puffy flip-flops (another accessory of note this season) and a baby blue bomber, the bag was shown in checkerboard canvas with leather trim. Paris was hot. And most of what I wore was in conversation with the heat and my crutches: flat shoes, unfussy bags — anything that went with aluminum and rubber. I physically and spiritually could not wear anything that felt intrusive or unnatural. Issey Miyake Men's understands functionality, but it also gets tribal. Dressing for that deep, inner part of yourself that yearns to connect to your own history and body. This season's Issey Miyake show felt like the club. It started and ended with a full-bodied dance performance, and the accessories felt both organic and freaky enough for a dance floor — from a perfect leather belt bag to sunglasses that fanned out with multiple colored lenses to biker caps in soft knit. Next up was Julian Klausner's debut for Dries Van Noten Men. The whimsical, emotional accessories in this show rewired my neural pathways. There were satin boxing boots in hot pink and periwinkle. Patchwork floral sarongs styled over suit pants. Long sustainably-sourced seashell necklaces that looked like talismans. Oversized bowler bags in unlikely color combinations like salmon and charcoal, brown and black, dusty rose and camel, taupe and olive. Cumberbunds, even. The accessories in this collection lived somewhere on the spectrum between sophisticated and spirited — inspired by a morning on the beach after staying up all night at a party. A girl never forgets her first Rick Owens runway. The SS26 men's show, called 'Temple,' was in conversation with Owens' retrospective at the Palais Galleria, 'Temple of Love,' which references his early years in L.A. as the genesis of his work. 'The exhibition tracks the pursuit of glamour and sleaze that I was looking for on Hollywood Boulevard, and eventually, improbably, ending up in a Paris museum,' Owens writes in the show notes. For the runway show, models descended from a temple built out of scaffolding before dipping into the fountain at Palais de Tokyo. Such a part of the Rick experience is the crowd, a band of fashion weirdos clad in Kiss boots, and standing among them in crutches felt natural in this context. Maybe even something someone would do purposefully at a Rick show for the vibes alone. His shoe designs have been inspired by medical support devices for years, continuing this season with splint-inspired sandals, so I mean, why not? It was here that I spotted another fashion victim in crutches. We walked by each other and half-laughed, touching crutches like a fist bump before he claimed me as his 'sister.' Other stand-out accessories were shield wrap-around sunglasses, and the extra-large carabiner clips on harnesses that helped hoist models onto the Temple for the show's spectacle of a finale. The next day, Keyla and I watched Jonathan Anderson's Dior debut via livestream from our Airbnb while I elevated my leg, and even through the screen, the accessories screamed at us. It was the details at Dior that spoke volumes — subtle pop-culture references, the number of pleats on a pair of giant cargo shorts, the messy styling of a necktie. The look fell somewhere between 18th-century French noble and mid-aughts California skater boy. The high-top wrestling-style sneakers worn with the green cargos and the yellow 'Dracula' cross body messenger bag. Voluptuous bow ties and cravats worn scrunchily with fisherman sandals and socks. At some point I just yelled across the room: 'Keyla, the backpacks!' The Kiko Kostadinov show was our last stop of the season before flying back to L.A. Almost six days into fashion week, my crutches started to feel like an extension of self. Still, making it to the second floor of a parking garage venue for the show was a precarious mission. The collection though — which spanned work wear, loungewear and evening wear, inspired by day-to-night in a fictional island town — was worth it. For the brand, the collection's centerpiece was the materials: twill, mesh, kasuri cotton, leather, jacquard, wool. My focus was on the smaller things. Toe socks with sandals. Tabi Asics. An ultra-thin belt with silver grommets that was also a waist bag. A sky-blue scrunched fabric belt chain. Idiosyncratic charms on belt loops and suit jacket pockets. The collection spoke to the futuristic-hippie sensibilities that live unshakably inside of me, leftover from a past life. And that's what accessories have the opportunity to do — communicate where exactly you are right now, or remind you of where you were. They have the potential to be more personal than anything else. As I gathered my crutches and called one last Uber to the airport, I knew what my accessory said about me. It was the same reason why I probably ended up on them in the first place, the same reason I was in France for fashion week with a broken femur: I don't know when to give up. Lead art photos: 'Plate with waved pattern,' 1970, Iwate Museum of Art; Frederique Dumoulin-Bonnet; Ulrich Knoblauch; Courtesy of Kiko Kostadinov; OWENSCORP; Getty Images.
Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Boston Arts Academy steps in to help craft the next Ufot Cycle play: ‘Kufre n' Quay'
Before a recent rehearsal, Mngomezulu says that coming to America has been a 'culture shock' for his character. Seated next to him, castmate Kamanampata explains that 'confusion and hurt and conflict can come when someone expects something of a culture that they've only seen caricatures and stereotypes of.' Kufre comes from a country, Udofia points out, where everyone is largely of the same race. 'We're seeing the story through the eyes of a child who does not know he is Black until he gets to this country,' she says. 'He's meeting America for the first time at this age without any vocabulary for Blackness. … So what does that mean to suddenly hold that word?' Advertisement The show marks the first professional theater production ever for (who lives in Newton).'The youth, they're like lights,' Udofia says. 'They bring me so much joy.' The Huntington aimed for this to be a citywide festival celebrating Udofia, who grew up in Southbridge near Worcester, with multiple theaters and cultural organizations taking part. So when Charles Haugland, the Huntington's director of new work, called Boston Arts Academy artistic director Maura Tighe more than a year ago and suggested that there could be roles for students in one of the plays, Tighe leapt at the chance to boost their involvement. 'I said, 'Why not let us do it?'' Tighe recalls, standing in the BAA theater's mezzanine. The Huntington loved the idea, and BAA partnered with the Wheelock Family Theatre to produce this installment. 'Our mission is to connect the students to the community and help them see the way to what's next for them in their artistic domain, to see themselves as professionals,' Tighe says. 'I've been looking for the right theater connection, and this just blossomed.' Advertisement The first play in the Ufot Cycle, Udofia, a Wellesley College graduate, was inspired to set the play at a youth center, because she worked for years as an educator and teaching artist. 'It's really in my bones,' she says. 'And I thought there's no better way to have Kufre feel out America than to land him in one of these summer programs that I am so familiar with in New York City.' She was able to draw from her own experiences and insights from spending time around young people. 'There's just a way they talk when they think you're not listening that I find fascinating. It is colorful, it is fast and sharp. It can be so sweet, one second. Cruel, the next. Language making is happening all the time.' Advertisement Director John Oluwole ADEkoje watches cast members rehearse a scene of "Kufre n' Quay." Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff At the youth center, there are two main cliques — one a group of kids who live in the Little Senegal enclave (most of whom speak French); and then a clique of Black American kids largely from Harlem and the Bronx. 'There's conflict because these people are all defining their identities very differently,' says director John Oluwole ADEkoje, who's Nigerian-American. 'And it's being read like each group feels like they're better than the other.' At first, Kufre is rejected by both cliques. So he goes off on his own and daydreams, and it's quickly apparent that he has formidable powers of imagination. 'He closes his eyes, stretches his arms, and imagines a place he wants to go and what he wants to happen, and then he just goes there,' Mngomezulu says. Levi Mngomezulu rehearses a scene of "Kufre n' Quay" at Boston Arts Academy. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff Iniabasi (Ramona Lisa Alexander) arrives with her own set of prejudices, and when she finds out the other kids are bullying Kufre, she explodes. The dedicated Harlem Zone educator Ms. Jada, a.k.a. 'Ms. Ey Yo Miss' (Jalyse Ware), tries to help Kufre integrate into this new world while keeping the peace between the different cliques and teaching improv theater games. But it's Abasiama (Jackie Davis) who's best equipped to help her grandson navigate the tensions and strife. Having raised three children in Massachusetts, Abasiama has 'learned a little bit about the cultural biases that maybe she had initially,' Davis says. 'She understands both sides of the fence culturally, so she sees the mistakes that Kufre is making fresh from the continent. She's trying to be the person to ease him into this new society and not create harm as he's being harmed, but also getting him to understand how his interaction could have led to this misunderstanding.' Advertisement A BAA faculty member, playwright, and filmmaker, ADEkoje says that rehearsing with young people is 'a dance between being a professional director and being a teacher. You're guiding them through the process.' He did 'table work' — reading and discussing the play and breaking it down as a group — for longer than usual, before starting to block out scenes. 'I didn't want anybody getting up on their feet without understanding exactly who their characters are and what they want,' he says. Ultimately, Tighe says, 'This is a story about a boy who dreams, and he dreams so vividly, that things come to life on stage, and he's going to take all the other kids with him. He believes in this world where everybody's the same, and that's how they come to understand each other — through his dreams.' As they work to bring to life this unprecedented endeavor, Udofia is savoring every moment. 'This is a rehearsal process where I walk in happy, I walk out happy,' she says. 'These kids are bringing everything that they can and soaking it all up like a sponge. Watching them is my favorite thing.' KUFRE N' QUAY By Mfoniso Udofia, presented by the Boston Arts Academy and Wheelock Family Theatre. At Boston Arts Academy Main Stage Theatre, July 10-26. Tickets from $22. 617-635-6470;
Time Business News
6 hours ago
- Time Business News
Gel Nail Extensions in Leicester: Styles, Prices, and Top Trends:
In the very centre of Leicester, gel nail extensions are becoming a declaration of beauty and fashion. Gel nails are a trend in this generation and provide a long-lasting, shiny, and convenient solution for pretty nails without destroying the natural nails. The experts at Salima Salon use expert techniques and the latest styles and trends to turn nails into works of art. These are the alternatives for acrylic nails. They are synthetic tips that are placed on top of the natural nail with a gel-based product, which is cured under LED or UV light for lasting. They look more flexible, light, and natural. People find them more preferable in length, strength, and high-gloss sheen without sacrificing nail health. Classic and sophisticated, French tips never go out of style with Leicester clients. The crisp white tip against a nude or pink background is ideal for weddings, job interviews, or urban chic. Smooth gradient from one hue to another, ombre nails are the latest take on classic polish. Nude-to-pink, lavender-to-white, and even graphic neon fades are popular choices. Nail shape doesn't take a backseat to color. Coffin (or ballerina) and almond are popular in Leicester for their slimming, lengthening effect on the fingers. For party animals, chrome and holographic gel finishes are a must. These futuristic finishes are light-reflective and perfect for festivals or parties. Leicester prices of gel nail extensions depend on the salon, experience of the technician, and design complexity. At Salima Salon, we pride ourselves on honest pricing and quality value. – Full Set Gel Extensions in £30 – £45. – Gel Infill (2–3 weeks) in £25 – £35. – Gel Polish on Natural Nails in £20 – £28. – Nail Art (per nail) in £3 – £10. – Gel Removal in £10 – £15. – French/Ombre Add-On in £5 – £8. Gel Nail Trends 2025: Pearls and small gems are giving way to 3D nail art. These pieces not only add dimension but also texture to your manicure. Having areas of the nail exposed creates a trendy, cutting-edge look. Consider cut-out hearts, stripes, or abstract designs. Soft pastels like mint green, baby blue, and lilac are dominating the spring and summer seasons. Matte, velvet, and sugar finishes are adding a tactile twist to traditional gel nails. Gel nail extensions are an art of self-expression to make your nails appear pretty and glossy without sacrificing the natural nails. At Salima Salon, professionals help you look and feel fabulous with nails that blow people away. Contact us today and take your nail game to the next level. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
