PARIS – Paris celebrated the reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral with an elaborate ceremony welcoming heads of state from around the globe.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chair and chief executive officer Bernard Arnault and Kering president and chief executive officer Francois-Henri Pinault attended the ceremony with French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and Prince William along with a host of other officials, dignitaries and celebrities, including Elon Musk.
“The Pinault family is delighted by the reopening of Notre Dame, five years after the devastating fire that deeply affected all French people and friends of France around the world. The family is particularly pleased that its sincere and spontaneous gesture – its donation announced on the evening of 15 April 2019 – has sparked an extraordinary wave of support from other patrons and donors,” Pinault said in a statement released to WWD.
Speaking ahead of the ceremony about his family’s contribution, Pinault added: “It’s a great source of pride, but you know, above all it’s a collective work. There has been an extraordinary outpouring of generosity, from the most modest to the wealthiest, and [from] beyond France. It is practically a universal work [and] a great pride to be part of it and above all very happy to give a little joy to all these people who contributed.”
The two fashion billionaires were pivotal to the rebuilding of the church after 861-year-old cathedral was partially destroyed by a fire five years ago.
After the fire, Pinault pledged 100 million euros in funds from his holding company Artemis to help the restoration efforts, and Arnault followed suit with a donation of 200 million euros to support the restoration efforts.
The Bettencourt-Meyers family, which controls beauty behemoth L’Oréal, also pledged 200 million euros that day. The trio of high-profile donations spurred a wave of checks from other French corporations. The total eventually topped 840 million euros.
LVMH also sponsored a scientific research initiative on the restoration effort, as well as donated 36 300-year-old oak trees from its Cellé forest in the Loire region, which serves as the supplier for cognac-maker Hennessy’s barrels, to rebuild the frame of the church’s historic spire.
The Arnault family was well represented, with Dior chair and chief executive officer Delphine Arnault, LVMH image and environment director Antoine Arnault, Moët Hennessy deputy CEO Alexandre Arnault, LVMH Watches CEO Frédéric Arnault and Louis Vuitton product and development director, watches Jean Arnault all in attendance. Antoine Arnault’s wife, model Natalia Vodianova, was there as well.
“I am proud of the outpouring of generosity from all over the world, to which the LVMH Group and my family wanted to contribute from the very beginning, which has enabled the restoration of this jewel of our heritage,” Antoine Arnault said in a statement posted to LinkedIn.
“This extraordinary project highlighted the excellence of French know-how and the talent of nearly 2,000 architects, workers and craftsmen of all trades. All committed to bringing Notre-Dame de Paris back to life thanks in particular to the centuries-old transmission of gestures and knowledge by cathedral builders,” he added.
“Our Lady rises again, in all its majesty, ready to welcome and inspire the world,” he said, adding “what an emotion to see it reborn, five years after the fire that ravaged it.”
François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek-Pinault.
Getty Images for Notre-Dame de P
Pinault was joined by his wife Salma Hayek, in a form-fitting green coat with a faux fur collar. They were seated behind Musk.
French First Lady Brigitte Macron wore a double-breasted coat and carried a Lady Dior handbag to welcome dignitaries alongside her husband. She attended the most recent Dior runway show, alongside Delphine Arnault, during fashion week in September.
Former French First Lady and model Carla Bruni wore a gray Dior fitted coat and carried a Dior bag. She had previously worn the coat to meet the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2008.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former First Lady Carla Bruni, in Dior.
Getty Images for Notre-Dame de P
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac designed the liturgical vestments worn by bishops, priests and deacons to be used during mass, which made their public debut at the celebration. The recruiting of a well-known designer was seen as another opportunity to showcase French savior-faire.
For the celebration of Mass, the bishops and priests wear wide cloaks called a chasuble as well as a stole around the neck, which descended the length of the cloak along both sides of the body. Deacons wear a dalmatic, or a long tunic with sleeves, as well as a shorter, asymmetric stole that went to the hip.
For the garments de Castelbajac went with white, the color traditionally used in festive celebrations such as Christmas and Easter, with accents of gold to reflect the colors of the cross and other elements that make up the visual identity of the cathedral.
The colorful robes.
Christophe Petit Tesson / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
“I wanted something that was strong, that was different, that would also move things forward,” he said, speaking on the opening ceremony programming. “I wanted a cross that was like an antenna, that was radiant, that spoke to the world of hope, joy, humanity and living together.”
He worked with Le19M, the Chanel-owned craftsmanship hub in Paris, on the garments that blended traditional signifiers with contemporary design.
Embroiderers Lesage and Montex, goldsmith Goossens, milliner Maison Michel and grand flou atelier Paloma worked on the 2,000 pieces that will be worn by 700 clergy members at the reopening ceremony.
De Castelbajac was inspired by streetwear techniques, including flocking similar to that used on sweatshirts, and heat transfer printing commonly used on T-shirts.
Hermès-owned silversmithing workshop Puiforcat created the liturgical objects, including the chalices, designed by Guillaume Bardet.
The ceremony was to be followed by a concert in the church’s forecourt dedicated to the firefighters who saved the church and the workers who helped rebuild it. It featured a performance by Louis Vuitton menswear creative director Pharrell Williams.
But Mother Nature likes to rain on France’s big parades as of late: see the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, which were drenched by downpours.
She was at it again with a strong storm and gale force winds forecast for Saturday night, which led to Williams’ performance being pre-taped on Friday night. On stage, he wore a green Human Made baseball cap and sang his hit song “Happy,” backed by 70 gospel singers dressed in white.
Pretty Yende in a gown from Dior and diamonds from Graff.
Courtesy Graff
South African soprano Pretty Yende performed during the concert, wearing Dior. During her performance she was accompanied by an orchestral performance conducted by Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel.
Yende sang “Amazing Grace” wearing a long-sleeved, boat neck dress in a palette of pale greens in floral guipure over black tulle. The look was completed with a black silk velvet belt, also from Dior. She topped it off with 110 carats of white diamonds, courtesy of British jewelry house Graff.
French singers Clara Luciani and Vianney, Canadian singer Garou, and Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo also performed.
