Divers in Dior? Yes please.
High fashion meets high performance with LVMH set to sponsor the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. The news of the €150M deal broke in July, and has fashion fanatics around the world wishing they’d worked a little harder in PE as brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Berluti are onboarded to design athletes’ uniforms.
The unprecedented partnership was negotiated by Antoine Arnault, eldest son of LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and heir to the $500 billion dollar LVMH legacy. Convinced that the opening ceremony could be the most watched event in Olympic history, the younger Arnault has been instrumental in LVMH’s increasing preoccupation with the world of professional sport.
In 2022, LVMH’s Berluti joined forces with Formula 1 team Alpine as their premium suiting partner. More recently in June, Wimbledon winner and men’s number one ranked tennis player Carlos Alcaraz was named Louis Vuitton’s newest brand ambassador, while 21-year-old French swimmer and world record holder Léon Marchand will be one of the first athletes to benefit from the Olympic deal.
Also signifying LVMH’s desire to shift its public perception from elitist brand, to the nation’s leading taxpayer, employer, and a keystone of the French economy, Bernard Arnault believes the collaboration will “contribute to heightening the appeal of France around the world”.
Paris is the perfect backdrop for such a luxury partnership, as venues once reserved for fashion spectacles lend their facilities to sporting professionals. The Grand Palais – beloved by the late Karl Lagerfeld and unofficial home to Chanel at Paris Fashion Week – will be used for fencing. The Garden Of Versailles, which hosted Jaquemus’ latest presentation will welcome equestrian events, and open water swimming will take place on the River Seine, where Louis Vuitton men’s creative director Pharrel staged his jaw dropping debut.
As part of the deal, LVMH’s largest jewellery house Chaumet has been tasked with revamping the Olympic medals. Completing the line-up of big name fashion and lifestyle sponsors, beauty retailer Sephora will support the Olympic torch relay, and Moët Hennessy has signed on to provide all beverages for event guests, as well as those iconic celebratory champagne showers.
Not just focused on glitz and glamour, LVMH is also teaming up with French nonprofit Secorus Populaire Français to support a programme that will allow 1000+ kids living in vulnerable situations to access sports association memberships, training programs and beginner classes – an indisputable win for all.