Maude And L’Oréal Partner With The Louvre For Exhibit On The History Of Privacy

Maude, long lauded for beautifully crafted sex toys, is showcasing two of its vibrators, Vibe and Spot, at the Louvre Museum in a new exhibit called “Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media.” 

The sexual wellness brand, which draws inspiration for its product construction from the works of sculptor Brâncuși and the Bauhaus movement, is a sponsor of the exhibit chronicling the history of privacy from the 18th century through modern times. It runs from today until March 30 next year and is also supported by L’Oréal Groupe and Friends of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

At the exhibit curated by director of museums Christine Macel, Vibe and Spot join over 470 pieces, including paintings, photographs, dressing tables, commode chairs, bathtubs and decorative art objects, exploring the increasingly blurred boundaries between private and public life and intimacy themes such as sleep, sexuality, beauty, grooming and solitude. They will be sold at the Louvre’s gift shop as will Maude’s lubricant Shine and massage candle Burn for the duration of the exhibit. 

Given Vibe and Spot’s connection to art and design, Maude founder Éva Goicochea says having them in the exhibit is akin to a homecoming. “I’ve always thought they should be in a museum,” she says, adding that the themes of the exhibit have long been of interest to her 9-year-old brand. “We’ve had that lens of, how did we get here? Why is this category this way? What does intimacy mean? What does privacy mean? It’s such an honor to be a part of this historic telling of that part of our lives.”

“Private Lives” isn’t Maude’s only tie-in with a museum. Last year, Goicochea and actress Dakota Johnson, who joined Maude as co-creative director in 2020, struck a partnership to sponsor Museum of Sex for “Modern Sex: 100 Years of Design and Decency,” an inaugural exhibit at the museum’s forthcoming Miami outpost that spans more than 500 pieces. K-Y and Durex are sponsors, too. 

Maude is sold in 33 countries globally including retail doors across Europe. In France, along with the Louvre, it’s available at department store Samaritaine, elevated sex shop Leo Plaisir and specialty beauty retailer Oh My Cream. Still, Goicochea says the brand hasn’t put a major focus on an international push.

She praises European retail partners for their willingness to embrace the sexual wellness category, particularly as American retailers remain hesitant to bring it in store, and some have stricken it from their online assortment. Of European retailers like Samaritaine, Goicochea says, “They had a thesis about where sexual wellness fits into their whole wellness assortment faster than most beauty stores. It’s not about volume, it’s about context, and I’ve always been bullish on this.”

Turning to Oh My Cream, she continues, “The size of the store makes everything feel super approachable and makes you feel like, oh, I understand how this lives in my own cabinet. When you’re in giant department stores, conceptual department stores or even Sephora, you can’t really imagine how it all fits together. Oh My Cream does such a good job merchandising.”

Maude has raised over $10 million in venture capital funding to date. While other popular VC-backed and private equity-owned sexual wellness brands like Dame, Cake, plusOne and Bloomi have focused expansion efforts on the mass retail channel where it’s often easier to get products onto physical shelves, Goicochea remains steadfast on who Maude is for and where the brand belongs. 

“There needs to be something for everybody, and I think there needs to be an adult brand,” says Goicochea. “I do not want to steer into young adulthood. I don’t want to steer into mass. I want to steer into adulthood. We are still very bullish on prestige and not going far fast.”