When Paris was announced as the host of this year's Olympics, thoughts turned to how the City of Lights – the heart of the world's fashion industry – would deliver. It's widely anticipated the spectacle will be celebrated for its style as much as its sporting prowess.
Undeniably a supremely photogenic city, and already well-versed in staging attention-grabbing fashion moments, Paris is eager to rewrite sporting history. When the opening ceremony takes place on July 26, for the first time in the event's history it will not be inside a sporting stadium, but instead along the River Seine, with the parade of participating nations all arriving in boats.
Aiming to utilise the sheer beauty of what Paris can offer, the archery competition will take place at Les Invalides, while the equestrian events will unfold inside the gardens of the Palace of Versailles.
Home to famous fashion and jewellery brands, which are a powerful lure, the city seems eager to capitalise on epitomising the notions of excellence and “Frenchness”. Looking to flex this fashion muscle, the Olympics committee has signed LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) as a premium partner for both Olympic events. Rumoured to have cost the fashion conglomerate in the region of €150 million ($160 million), it will lend the sporting event an undeniable sense of chic, while placing its high-end companies in the Olympics spotlight.
The French Olympics and Paralympics teams, for instance, will be dressed for the opening ceremonies by Berluti, the LVMH-owned French gentlemen’s outfitter. Wearing suits inspired by tuxedos, now colour-coded in a nod to the French flag, each uniform has been custom-fitted to reflect Berluti's tailoring expertise.
Founded in 1895, Berluti described its involvement with the Olympics as being a chance to showcase “both the maison’s savoir-faire and France’s athletes to the whole world”.
Louis Vuitton, meanwhile, is putting its 170 years of luggage-making expertise to use by creating custom trunks that will house the competition medals, as well as the unique travel case holding the Olympic torch as it winds its way across France.
Another LVMH name, Chaumet – that has been handcrafting jewels since 1780 – has been tasked with creating the Olympic medals, which feature a starburst around a hexagonal slice of metal from the Eiffel Tower.
Christian Dior, another LVMH title, has named a host of international female athletes as its latest ambassadors, including Italian Paralympian fencer Beatrice Vio, alongside French athletes including Estelle Mossely (boxing) and Pauline Deroulede (tennis).
It's not just a chance for LVMH to shine. The outfits for the French team across different disciplines, as well as the uniforms for the closing events, are being provided by Le Coq Sportif, the French sporting apparel house.
Other nations will also be kitted out by designer brands, such as Ralph Lauren, which is returning for a remarkable ninth time to dress Team USA for the opening and closing ceremonies, in natty blazers and jeans. The American golf team will wear looks created by J Lindeberg that, in a sign of how media-savvy the event has become, include more casual pieces for off-duty moments.
Team GB is being dressed by British brand Ben Sherman. Now its third Games for the national team, Ben Sherman has doubled down on its smart casual aesthetic with polo shirts decorated with flowers from all of the British nations and simple, zip-front tracksuit tops.
Outdoor apparel brand The North Face is providing the technical outfits for the climbing competition, for Austria, South Korea, Japan and America.
The opening ceremony will feature 3,000 costumes, many of which will have been created by Dior and Louis Vuitton, plus 15 emerging designers. With a strong focus on sustainability, these costumes include vintage, second-hand and upcycled looks, which will be repurposed afterwards.
Elsewhere, the couture house of Chanel nods to the sporting extravaganza in its latest high jewellery collection, titled Sport. The bespoke pieces by director of jewellery Patrice Leguereau will have taken months, if not years to hand-make, so creating them around the Olympics theme enshrines a unique provenance to each.
Vogue magazine's yearly glitzy bash, Vogue World, was held on Sunday, which was International Olympic Day. Sandwiched on the day separating Paris Fashion Week Men's and Haute Couture Fashion Week – which was rescheduled to avoid clashing with the Olympics – the party gathered fashion and sporting figures alike, including Jean Paul Gaultier, Pharrell Williams and Venus Williams.
As part of the event, models Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid trotted around on horses, clad, naturally, in garb from the French house of Hermes.
Taking place in Place Vendome, the event looked back over the century since Paris last hosted the Olympics, celebrating each decade via its fashion and including vintage pieces from the likes of Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Saint Laurent, Balmain and Chanel.
Speaking ahead of the event, Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour explained: “We're here to celebrate the wonder of French fashion. So I'm just grateful for all the support from the French community and the world of fashion here in Paris.”
