Cleveland Museum of Art

Mummy Linen

Date

1540–1296 BCE

Medium

linen: plain weave

Culture

Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The distressed nature of this ensemble, top and skirt, is inspired by the deterioration of linen wrapped around a mummified body. Olivier Rousteing produced the Egyptian-influenced collection immediately after costuming musical artist Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella performance, which included two ensembles inspired by Queen Nefertiti. Rousteing had resources like the Louvre Museum’s Egyptian art holdings at his disposal for research. The collection, including this ensemble, is experimental, exaggerating ancient Egyptian silhouettes and motifs to develop a fresh, youthful take on Egyptomania fashion.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.