La Naissance des Grands Magasins

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Cité de l'architecture are joining forces to present a series of two exhibitions on department stores from 1852 to the present day, from spring to winter 2024. The partnership between the two institutions aims to present a two-part history of these new temples of consumerism. The first part, at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs from April 10 to October 13, looks at the birth of department stores in the historical, political and social context of the Second Empire, their development, their golden age and finally their consecration at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts.