Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs
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The other museums housed in the Palais du Louvre come under the umbrella organization Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs. Often unjustly overlooked, their exhibitions can be among the city's most innovative, run by professionals from within the fashion and advertising industries rather than state museum administrators. The entrance for all three museums is at 107 rue de Rivoli (Tues–Fri 11am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; €7; www.ucad.fr).The Musée de la Mode et du Textile holds high-quality temporary exhibitions drawn from the large permanent collection aimed at demonstrating the most brilliant and cutting-edge of Paris fashions from all eras. Recent exhibitions have included Jackie Kennedy's famous 1960s dresses and a look at the work of the couturier. On the top floor, the Musée de la Publicité shows off its collection of advertising posters through cleverly themed, temporary exhibitions. The space is appropriately trendy – half-exposed brickwork and steel panelling, and half-crumbling Louvre finery – and there's a bar as well as a dozen computers where you can access the archive. Until the modern collections reopen (2004 or 2005), the restrained, traditional Musée des Arts Décoratifs, seems something of the odd man out, though its eclectic collection of art and superbly crafted furnishing fits the Union Centrale's "design" theme. The work may seem humble in comparison with the Louvre's airy Objetsd'art section, but most were made to be lived with or actually used, and the museum is a less daunting prospect as a result. At the time of writing, only the medieval and Renaissance rooms were open, showing off curiously shaped and beautifully carved chairs, dressers and tables, religious paintings, Venetian glass, some wonderful tapestries – including the delightful late-fifteenth-century Le Berger, depicting a shepherd surrounded by a very woolly flock – and a room entirely decorated and furnished as a late-medieval bedroom. The fascinating contemporary collections will display works by French, Italian and Japanese designers, including some great examples of the work of Philippe Starck.
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