The Louvre Abu Dhabi Bag: A Museum You Can Carry On Your Arm

If you’ve ever visited Louvre Abu Dhabi, and stood under the giant dome, you’d recognize the magic as geometry takes over and sunlight falls through the latticework in that famous rain of light. Photographs often don’t do justice and you’re left wondering how to keep a bit of that magic with you. Now, in a sense, you can.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi Bag, created in partnership with Venetian luxury brand Dellaluna, has just arrived at the museum's boutique. Much more than a beautifully made souvenir, this exquisite piece is crafted as an extension of the museum's own narrative. The bag is rooted in the centuries-old story of exchange between Venice and the Arab world: two cultures that have long traded silks, spices, ideas and ways of seeing.

The design takes inspiration from Arab architecture, the museum's iconic dome, its muted stone-grey tones, its precise geometry, that unmistakable rain of light and merges it with Dellaluna's trademark pattern, which itself is inspired by the architecture of Venice. So this is the story of two cities, two design vocabularies in one object that embodies both. 

Like a true piece of art, each bag takes more than 150 hours to create, made using century-old Venetian leather techniques. It is this slow, exacting kind of workmanship that mirrors the museum's own values of precision and permanence. 

It has already been receiving attention, though. The bag makes an appearance in The Devil Wears Prada 2, which is perhaps the most fashion-fluent endorsement an accessory can hope for. But truly, what sets it apart is about what it represents: the idea that objects carry history, embody craftsmanship and can move meaningfully between places, disciplines and audiences. 

The Louvre Abu Dhabi Bag is available exclusively at the museum's boutique, in limited quantities, on a first-come, first-served basis.