PARIS — The Fondation Maeght will stage its first thematic exhibition bringing together art and fashion with “The Era of Courrèges,” just in time for the Cannes Film Festival.

The exhibition kicking off in mid-May is curated by photographer Peter Knapp and focuses on the work and legacy of designer André Courrèges, particularly his spring 1965 haute couture collection, which introduced a radical silhouette defined by geometric cuts, short hemlines and a stark white palette.

Central to the exhibition are Knapp’s original photos of that collection, which presented a new vision of the “Courrèges woman” and redefined post-war fashion in a minimalist, almost architectural space.

Knapp, a close friend of both Courrèges and the Maeght family, was granted unusual creative freedom during the shoot, producing a series that now forms the core of the exhibition alongside archival material, garments loaned by the House of Courrèges, and later works created at the Fondation Maeght site in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

Knapp’s long association with the Maeght family includes a 1978 shoot staged among the foundation’s sculpture garden, as well as his 2021 curation of an Alberto Giacometti-focused exhibition exploring artistic lineage.

The institution, inaugurated in 1964 by André Malraux, has hosted more than 150 exhibitions and houses a permanent collection of more than 13,000 works, including pieces by modern masters such as Giacometti and Ellsworth Kelly. It is recognized as France’s first foundation dedicated to modern and contemporary art.

The project comes amid a restructuring at Courrèges. Former artistic director Nicolas Di Felice revealed his departure in March, and passed the torch to Drew Henry, who will present his first collection at Paris Fashion Week in September.

The Fondation Maeght has previously hosted fashion events, such as the Louis Vuitton cruise show in 2018.

The exhibition will run from May 14 to Nov. 1.