Celebrity French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac has been chosen to dress Notre Dame’s clergy for December’s reopening ceremony.
The designer and artist, who has worked with popular singers such as Madonna and Rihanna, was selected by the Archbishop of Paris, Monseigneur Laurent Ulrich, due to his longstanding association with the Catholic Church.
In 1997, he designed rainbow-themed outfits for 500 bishops and 5,000 priests, as well as the chasuble worn by Pope John Paul II. It was the first collaboration between a designer and the Vatican.
Speaking to The Times, the 74-year-old said the vestments have no embroidery, and his designs will be printed onto the clothes instead “like for sweatshirts”
During a six-month celebration marking the monument's restoration, clergy will wear chasubles adorned with what the designer described as a "spurt of light." Following this period, the Archbishop of Paris and his colleagues will exclusively wear Castelbajac’s designs for Easter, Christmas, and other special occasions.
Notre Dame suffered a devastating fire in 2019, which saw its famous spire collapse and destroy most of the wooden roof.
Earlier this year, France’s president Emmanuel Macron announced the reopening of the church will take place in December this year.