Christian Lacroix The Costumier, a blockbuster show that opens on Thursday at the National Museum, is the first project presented under a Singapore-France memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in Paris less than two months ago.

Under the MOU, Singapore's National Heritage Board (NHB) and its French counterpart, Reunion des Musees Nationaux (RMN), will jointly curate suitable shows and showcase collections to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.

The exhibition also sees the official launch of Voilah!, a month-long French Festival in Singapore which is the curtain-raiser to the eight-month long European Season - Encore!.

On show in Singapore - for the first time outside France - are 75 costumes Lacroix designed for various ballet, theatre and opera productions over 20 years.

Accompanying these are 60 sketches showing how Lacroix brainstormed a basic idea by drawing, and then developing it into costumes worn in performances.

The show, which runs until June 7, has a special feature - it gives museum-goers the ultimate walk-in wardrobe experience. Unlike other displays, glass does not separate the viewer from the exhibits. What you get instead are dramatic costumes together with backdrops of sets created for opera and theatre.

On why the museum picked Lacroix for its first blockbuster of the year, National Museum director Ms Lee Chor Lin said: 'This year, we have a great selection of exhibitions lined up covering visual arts, design and history. Lacroix brings together fashion, theatricality and literature. It is a spectacular visual feast rendered in a very modern, yet romantic way.'

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times' Life!