French Luxury Is Turning to New York, and The Shed Will Host the Pitch
When New York clears the noise of Frieze and auction week, another kind of spectacle will move in. In late May, The Shed will host Hidden Treasures, an exhibition organized by Comité Colbert that places French luxury brands, museums, and heritage institutions in direct conversation with the art world.
The project is led by Bénédicte Épinay, president and chief executive of Comité Colbert, whose membership includes 96 French luxury brands, 17 cultural institutions, and six European luxury brands. Among the names involved are Musée du Louvre, Le Bristol hotel, Balenciaga, Veuve Clicquot, Diptyque, Christofle, and Louis Vuitton. Épinay has described the initiative as an act of cultural diplomacy, arguing that it can reshape how luxury is understood.
The timing is deliberate. Hidden Treasures arrives during the US’s 250th anniversary, with a symbolic nod to the long alliance between the Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington. It also follows Comité Colbert’s 2024 exhibition Jeux de Mains in Shanghai, which was presented as tariffs on cognac were under pressure. In that case, the trade backdrop mattered almost as much as the exhibition itself.
The United States is now central to the luxury sector’s growth story. Brands depend on the country for about a third of sales, and HSBC estimates that luxury sales to US consumers will rise 8% in 2026, up from 2% last year. Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels posted a 14% rise in regional sales in the last quarter of 2025, while a Comité Colbert survey found that 46% of US consumers said tariff-driven price increases did not change how they felt about French products.
The broader market picture is more uneven. Christie’s luxury category, which includes watches and handbags, rose 17%, and Sotheby’s increased 22%, even as other luxury businesses have faced restructuring, store closures, and softer year-end results. Max Fawcett, Christie’s newly appointed global head of jewellery, pointed to Europe’s sluggish wealth creation and the rapid rise of new buyers in India as signs that demand is shifting rather than disappearing.
That shift is also changing the language of luxury itself. For some, it still means bespoke tailoring and old-world craft. For others, it now extends to hospitality, vintage, and experience. LVMH has moved further into that territory through Belmond, Cheval Blanc, and the acquisition of Chez L’Ami Louis. In that sense, Hidden Treasures is not just a showcase for French brands. It is a statement about where luxury believes its future lies: in craftsmanship, cultural legitimacy, and the ability to make heritage feel newly relevant.
