It might seem like a show season dominated by stateside locations only just ended, but a slew of French houses have already returned to US soil. Dior and Louis Vuitton are among the brands that have traveled back to New York; only this time, it’s not for a runway show, but for a new exhibition.
“Hidden Treasures, 250 Years of Franco-American Luxury Stories”, a gathering of 65 French luxury maisons and cultural institutions organized by luxury association Comité Colbert, opens on Tuesday at The Shed in New York’s Hudson Yards. Running until May 31, the exhibition is part of a wider program put together by the two countries to celebrate 250 years of friendship since the American Revolution-era alliance began. The French association expects between 10,000 and 15,000 visitors across the six-day run.
“Sixty-five [exhibitors] is truly a record-breaking number [for an event of the Comité Colbert],” Comité Colbert CEO Bénédicte Épinay tells Vogue Business. “And it shows one thing: America is the leading market for most of our houses. It’s a market where they want to communicate both individually and collectively to promote French luxury and the French art de vivre, along with this shared history between France and the US.” The trade association, which has 115 members, works to promote French luxury internationally, preserve traditional craftsmanship, and coordinate industry collaboration and advocacy on topics spanning sustainability, dupes, intellectual property, AI, and more.
The exhibition is well-timed: the US continues to drive growth in the luxury market, with China’s slower-than-anticipated recovery, Europe’s subdued spending, and the conflict in the Middle East. In Q1 2026, LVMH saw its US revenues grow 3%, Kering 9%, Hermès 17.2%, and Richemont 18%. “The US continues to be a resilient and attractive market, with a K-shaped economy — where the top end grows, but the lower end is seeing more pressure,” TD Cowen analyst Oliver Chen told Vogue Business earlier this month.
Hélène Poulit-Duquesne, CEO of Boucheron and recently appointed chair of Comité Colbert, does not expect the exhibition to help boost sales further, however. “That is not its purpose; it’s about rallying,” she says. “Bringing all these maisons together is something amazing, and the fact that all of them come under a single stronghold tells a beautiful story of French luxury.”
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