Paris 2024 Olympic medals are displayed in custom luggage made by Louis Vuitton, LVMH brand partner for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, before the games on July 22, 2024 in Paris At a party held by LVMH.
Stephen de Sakutin | AFP | Getty Images
Whether it’s the Moët & Chandon champagne poured to celebrate victory or the bespoke luggage Louis Vuitton created for the medal ceremony, luxury is on full display at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.
For Carly Duguid, creative director of tennis and fashion star Naomi Osaka, luxury fashion and sport are the perfect combination.
“There are strong parallels between athletes and brands’ commitment to quality and excellence,” Duguid told CNBC.
In the age of influence, fashion is rapidly integrating into the sports world and elevating athletes into tastemakers. These global stars help brands connect with a whole new market of fans and potential new buyers.
Osaka is the first athlete to collaborate with Louis Vuitton, whose roster now includes Victor Wembanyama, Carlos Alcaraz and many French Olympic and Paralympic athletes Athletes.
LVMH is not alone. Gucci has teamed up with British footballer Jack Grealish as an ambassador and has installed billboards featuring Italian tennis champion Jannik Skinner in various cities. Caitlin Clark became the first professional basketball player to wear Prada in the 2024 WNBA Draft and has continued to wear classic designer pieces throughout the season. Dozens of luxury designers are designing outfits for the national team for the opening ceremony for the first time, marking a new connection not only between track and field and fashion, but also between track and field and the Olympics.
LVMH hopes to make a splash beyond its athlete partnerships by becoming the first luxury brand to become an Olympic sponsor.
The parent company of brands including Celine, Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Sephora and Dom Perignon, whose roughly $160 million investment will account for nearly 1% of LVMH’s 2023 profits, provides a luxury touchpoint for the Olympics, from Chaumet-designed medals to French Athletes wore Berluti designs at the opening ceremony, and medalists wore LVMH uniforms with a distinctly French retro style.
LVMH Financials, Luxury Buying and Olympic Growth
As overall luxury spending slows, ties to the world’s most elite sporting events could provide a boost for LVMH.
LVMH Sales and revenue targets for the second quarter were missed, and the luxury industry is generally struggling as global demand declines, largely due to rising financial instability and the decline of “aspirational” consumers (young first-time luxury buyers) ) market shrinks.
Milton Pedraza, CEO of luxury industry consultancy The Luxury Institute, said that instead of buying a “nameless belt,” new potential buyers will see Olympic athletes surrounded by LVMH brands and develop a desire for these luxury goods. .
Luxury brands once focused primarily on the most expensive and exclusive sports, such as tennis and sailing, but now sell what Pedraza calls “inclusion and exclusivity.”
“Nowadays, because many of the rising rich are athletes, actors, social media influencers, there’s more (idea) that no matter race, creed, gender or any other background, you can be successful if you have the finances … ability, you can participate in luxury goods,” Pedraza said.
A new era of luxury in sports?
LVMH has brought classic French glamor to the global Olympics from its fashion-forward opening ceremonies, but the brand’s influence extends far beyond French culture.
“Sports, luxury and fashion bring us together… Shared culture is the goal to ensure that luxury brands… extend,” Pedraza said.
The night before the opening ceremony, Osaka attended a celebrity-athlete party at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in central Paris, attended by guests including LeBron James and Serena Williams, as well as actors, artists and others wearing LVMH-branded apparel. Business tycoon.
Duguid called it “a great opportunity for athlete ambassadors to show up and support their LVMH partnership while celebrating the opening of the Olympic Games.”
Since every medal tray brought to the championship podium features the plaid pattern that has long defined the brand, “(LVMH’s) presence will permeate every fiber of the Olympics,” Duguid said.
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