As much as the Olympics is a time to celebrate human achievements in sports and culture, it is also a time to recognize and appreciate the arts. One such art form that has already made a profound impact, especially in the opening ceremony, is fashion.
The company that started this onslaught of fashion influence was Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), a French multinational holding company that was merged between fashion house Louis Vuitton and winery Moët Hennessy. It provides various luxury products, including fashion, cosmetics, fragrances and alcoholic beverages.
The company’s two largest fashion houses, Louis Vuitton and Dior, gained maximum exposure with over 320,000 visitors at the opening ceremony and two to three billion broadcast viewers globally, according to Vogue writer Laure Guilbault.
Lady Gaga, Celiné Dion, Aya Nakamura and Juliette Armanet all performed in custom Dior, while Louis Vuitton designers showcased the making of the medals cases and dressed French Paris Opera’s ballet dancer Guillaume Diop, who danced on the Hôtel de Ville rooftop.
Other LVMH brands contributed to the Olympics as well. French jeweler Chaumet created the medals, while Sephora makeup artists were in charge of Olympic medalists’ appearances.
In addition to big brands contributing to the beauty of the event, 15 emerging fashion designers selected by the 2024 Olympics’s stylist Daphné Bürki showcased their works on a catwalk. Friot, whose label was created in 2020, had the honor of designing the character of Joan of Arc, who rode a horse down the Seine while carrying the Olympic flag.
As for a global outlook on national teamwear, here are a few notable partnerships: Team France wore Berluti, Team USA was in Ralph Lauren and Team Canada dressed in Lululemon. Italian uniforms were designed by Giorgio Armani and the Mongolian team particularly stood out with more traditional cultural wear, created by Michel and Amazonka.
In these ways, the fashion world collectively continues to make history in the very city that became one of the fashion capitals of the world.
Lady Gaga opened up the Olympic festivities with the Jeanmarie song “Mon Truc en Plumes,” on a set of stairs above the Seine. Having done research about French art and music, she drew on the ideas of old cabarets, hence the feathers and accentuated legs. “I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organizing committee to sing such a special French song — a song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music and theatre,” Gaga posted on Instagram and X. (Graphic/Alina Sukhovskaya)
