Loro Piana’s New Campaign Shot by Mario Sorrenti Places Three Texas Icons in the Storied Brand’s Constellation of Singular Spaces

1/0

Three Houston jewels, the Menil Collection, the de Menil House, and Rothko Chapel, join the rarefied constellation of singular places explored by Loro Piana, as recently revealed in the heritage brand’s Fall/Winter 2026-2027 advertising campaign.  (Courtesy Loro Piana; the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas; Photo Mario Sorrenti)

Loro Piana’s campaign also features the renowned Rothko Chapel, which was built in 1971 and houses 14 canvases by Mark Rothko. (Courtesy Loro Piana; The Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas; Photo Mario Sorrenti)

Sigrid de L’Epine in an image for Loro Piana’s Fall/Winter 2026-2027 advertising campaign, shot by photographer Mario Sorrenti, pays homage to visionaries John and Dominique de Menil, whose steadfast commitment to art as a way of life indelibly shaped Houston’s cultural landscape. (Courtesy Loro Piana; the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas)

The Loro Piana campaign flows from the Menil Collection’s galleries, bungalows, the Menil Drawing Institute, and green spaces. (Courtesy Loro Piana; the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas; Photo Mario Sorrenti)

Santo Sospir, the “tattooed villa” whimsically marked by Jean Cocteau while summering on the Côte d’Azur. Italian architect Cini Boeri’s Casa Rotonda in Sardinia. Casa das Conoas by Oscar Niemeyer, Balthus’ Grand Chalet, and La Colombe d’Or and the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Now, The Menil Collection, the de Menil House, and Rothko Chapel join these storied treasures recognized by historic brand Loro Piana as places of culture and environments shaped by those who lived in them. 

A storied brand like Loro Piana seeks inspiration in the inimitable. Three Houston jewels, The Menil Collection, the de Menil House, and Rothko Chapel, join the rarefied constellation of singular places explored by Loro Piana, as recently revealed in the heritage brand’s Fall/Winter 2026-2027 advertising campaign, titled “A Day in Houston.”

Inside the Menil Collection’s Hallowed Halls and the de Menil House Where the Vision Was Honed

The images, shot by photographer Mario Sorrenti, pay homage to visionaries John and Dominique de Menil, whose steadfast commitment to art as a way of life indelibly shaped Houston’s cultural landscape. The Menil Foundation was first established in the de Menils’ former Houston residence, designed by architect Philip Johnson between 1949 and 1951. The International-style home was completed two years after Johnson’s now iconic Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, the project that established his fame as an architect.

Now a historic landmark, the de Menil House — considered to be the DNA of The Menil Collection — is also noted for its striking interiors by American couturier Charles James, the only interiors ever attributed to James. 

The immaculately shot Loro Piana campaign flows from the Menil Collection‘s galleries, to its surrounding neighborhood bungalows, Menil Drawing Institute, and green spaces. Just as the de Menils imagined, art, architecture, and daily life dissolve into one another in these hallowed halls. 

Significantly, after John de Menil passed away in 1973, the stalwart Dominique continued the couple’s vision, commissioning Renzo Piano for his first building in America — the Menil Collection opened June 4, 1987, with a collection that focused upon four areas: Antiquities; Byzantine and Medieval; Africa, the Pacific Islands, and Indigenous Americas; and 20th-Century and Contemporary, including one of the world’s most acclaimed caches of Surrealism.

The campaign, features an intergenerational cast including Sigrid de L’Epine and her husband, artist Jean-Charles Blais, haunting apparitions of the elegant John and Dominique, alongside models Colin Otto, Jacqui Hooper, Jackson Giles, Long Li, Noor Khan, Robert Forrest, and Selena Forrest. Highlighting a refined dialogue between the museum collection and its surroundings, garments are defined by tactile richness, ease of movement, and a palette drawn from the environment.

“Working on this campaign for Loro Piana within the extraordinary de Menils’ landscape was truly inspiring,”says photographer Mario Sorrenti. “The synergy between the collection‘s refined elegance and the timeless, art-filled environments created by John and Dominique de Menil was profound. It allowed us to capture a natural, unforced beauty, a quiet dialogue between the clothing and these spaces that felt both intimate and expansive.” 

In appreciation, Loro Piana made a financial contribution in support of the Menil’s mission ahead of the institution’s 40th  anniversary in 2027.

“The Menil Collection is grateful to Loro Piana for their support,”says Menil director Rebecca Rabinow. “We are so pleased to welcome Loro Piana as a major supporter of the Menil’s upcoming fortieth anniversary gala in December 2027.”

The Resplendent Rothko Chapel

“A Day in Houston” also features the renowned Rothko Chapel. Though it’s neither a museum nor a church, Rothko Chapel, which was built in 1971 and houses 14 vaporous paintings by Mark Rothko, is an architectural holy ground that inspires reverence for the art that divinely shifts with the day’s light.

In a 2015 PaperCity interview, the late artist’s son, Christopher Rothko, said of the Chapel, an international site for spiritual seekers and those devoted to art and activism: “Like the de Menils, Mark Rothko always looked to move people way from the trivial, to look at, and look for, ultimate truths. This was always the motive beyond his painting; it is just more absolutely expressed in the Chapel.”

Loro Piana also contributed to Rothko Chapel‘s ongoing “Opening Spaces” project, which aims to preserve the 55-year-old building and expand its north campus.

“For decades, visitors have entered Rothko Chapel seeking quiet reflection and meaningful connection,”says Abdullah Antepli, president of the Rothko Chapel. “This collaboration with Loro Piana beautifully carries that experience beyond our walls and invites a wider audience to engage with the Chapel’s mission and legacy.” 

The campaign’s striking cast, unified in their beauty,wander these inspiring spaces in perfect step with the colors and textures of Loro Piana’s collection.

American saxophonist Richard “Dickie” Landry also makes a seminal contribution to the video. A close collaborator of the de Menils, Landry performed at the Rothko Chapel in 1987 in celebration of The Menil Collection’s opening. His improvised notes serve as the heartbeat of the campaign, unable to be replicated. 

Singular indeed.

Additional reporting from Catherine D. Anspon