What Sports and Luxury Have in Common
There are few cinematic tropes we love to hate more than the all-star athlete stifling their inner artist. For years, this cliche persisted off-screen. However, the once-rigid line between creatives and athletes is dissolving; these two worlds are discovering a shared ethos: pushing the limits of human potential.
Luxury brands are among those opening their doors and minds to athletes. Influencers are becoming passé, and genuine athletic achievements are a welcome replacement for curated online personas. Spectators and luxury connoisseurs alike are eagerly anticipating how this dynamic will unfold when the 2024 Olympics and Fashion Week coincide in Paris this summer, a time poised to redefine the industry crossover.
Team France Opening Ceremonies Outfits Designed by Berluti. Photo Courtesy: LVMH
It was once unheard of for athletes to influence people who never set foot in a stadium, let alone about their fashion choices. Fans preferred for players to remain in the box neatly labelled “sports only.” However, influencer culture has generated a reliance on external input for decision-making, individual opinions being dictated by a digital persona. As the realization dawns that these personas are detached from real life, save for the occasional in-person event, there’s a shift towards new, relatable personalities.
The waning influence of influencers coincides with an emerging cohort of athletes choosing luxury partnerships over various sports endorsements to differentiate their image. These partnerships are expected to grow from $63.1 billion to $109.1 billion from 2021 to 2030. [1]
Every collaboration between athletes and luxury brands has its own story. Consider WNBA star Britney Griner, who, after being released from nine months in a Russian prison in 2022, approached the stylist Courtney Mays to help manage her image for extensive media coverage. [2] Griner’s appearance in custom Calvin Klein for the 2023 Met Gala, followed by a Vogue feature, shows how personal circumstances can drive athletes into high fashion. For others, partnerships are a deliberate channel for creativity.
Brittany and Cherelle Griner in Custom Calvin Klein. Photo Courtesy: Calvin Klein Instagram
There’s more to the picture than social media engagement and profit margins. Public opinion plays a role in partnerships, and not everyone in the sports world is on board. European athletes are especially subject to a conservative view of societal roles.
To name a few instances of scrutiny toward athletes who step outside of the box: Spanish footballer Hector Bellerin is often abused online for his fashion interests, and German footballer Serge Gnarby was mocked by his own team manager for attending a fashion show on a day off. Economic factors partially explain Europe’s begrudging embrace. “Europe has taken some time to catch up because for a long while [US athlete] salaries were dwarfing what we saw here in Europe,” explains Clive Reeves, UK sports leader at PwC. "Now, athletes in Europe realising the value of their personal brand and are aligning themselves with sectors that make sense to them for commercial gain.”[3]
It appears that luxury is the sector of choice. Initially, high-end brands have been hesitant to associate with sports like basketball, deemed less exclusive than golf and tennis; unwilling for their reputation to hinge on the personal lives of players. However, leagues such as the NBA and NFL have formalised ties to the luxury market. A novel strategy has been launching their own design collaborations. The Cleveland Cavaliers, under creative guidance of artist Daniel Arsham, partnered with Tiffany & Co. to craft a limited-edition Tiffany blue basketball for the 2022 All-Star Weekend.[4]
Tiffany & Co x Cleveland Cavaliers Limited-Edition Basketball. Photo Courtesy: NBA
According to Bellerin, brands have a newfound confidence about partnerships because they know that players have distinct personalities and a cultural importance extending beyond the sport. It’s crucial to note that brands aren’t suddenly becoming interested in sports themselves; rather, they are attracted by the societal value assigned to sports.
Culturally valued or not, venturing into the unknown is risky and opens the door to faux paus. Burberry learned this the hard way when they seated Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min together at its Spring/Summer '24 London show days before they played each other in the north London derby – a move oblivious to the deep-seated rivalry between the two players and their fan bases. This incident is a cautionary tale for marketing teams to do their due diligence. [5]
This summer will reveal how ready the luxury world is to accept athletes, and vice versa. The convergence of high-profile events such as the Fall/Winter Haute Couture Collection in Paris from June 24-27 and Men’s Spring/Summer shows from June 18-25, closely followed by the Olympic Games starting on July 26, sets the stage for a potential cultural shift.
Temporary Outdoor Arena at Château de Versailles. Photo Courtesy: Olympics
There is ample precedent for Olympians and haute couture converging. In 2018, British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith and teammate Katarina Johnson-Thompson took a break from running, walking the catwalk for Virgil Abloh’s Off-White during Paris Fashion Week. The collection revealed a new collaboration with Nike, with athletes including Neymar invited to watch from the crowd.
Another athlete-turned-model is U.S. Olympian fencer Miles Chamley-Watson. The champagne brand G.H. Mumm approached Miles because they see him as “a groundbreaking force in fencing and fashion,” who embodies their bold values. [6]
Miles Chamley-Watson for G.H. Mumm. Photo Courtesy: G.H. Mumm
Chamley-Watson's ambitions go beyond fashion; he's on a mission to elevate his sport. “We have the potential to be on TV every day. Obviously, the Olympics and World Championships are big for the sport, but I think there are so many other ways to bring viewers to the sport,” Miles says in an interview to a sponsor. [7]
LVMH has already placed a reportedly €150 million (about £128.5 million) sized bet on the 2024 Olympics. They’ve partnered Olympic and Paralympic Games nearly a year in advance. During the events, the conglomerate’s French brands will be given sponsorship opportunities: Chaumet will produce the competition’s medals, and Möet Hennessy will supply drinks at celebrations, to name a few. [8] In a press release, LVMH positions themselves as the “Artisan of All Victories,” drawing a parallel between their craftspeople and athletes. In their own words, both contribute to victories of every scale, through meticulous skill, resilience, and the pursuit of excellence.
Unveiling of the Louis Vuitton Designed Medals Trunk. Photo Courtesy: LVMH
Berluti called up every one of their artisans to produce over 1,5000 outfits for the French team. The masculine LVMH brand didn’t miss a single detail across the project’s 26,000 feet (about 8,000 meters) of fabric used and 60 miles (about 97 km) of stitches – a distance greater than two marathons. The designs were made to invoke pride among French athletes and coaches, representing the savoir-faire and creativity of Berluti. [9]
As Arnault has made clear, this summer is poised to be a watershed moment for athlete-luxury collaborations. The physical and temporal proximity of Fashion Week and the Olympic Games offer an unrivaled stage for exposure, where opportunities for visibility are massive. The ephemeral nature of sports means that, “unlike on-demand entertainment, live sport can only be experienced in the moment, meaning huge audiences have eyes on the same thing at once.” [10]
It's high time we move beyond a jaded influencer culture that has become far too predictable. Sports and luxury are united in their pursuit of excellence; the upcoming Olympic Games and Fashion Weeks are an opportune time to celebrate their common ground. Summer is just around the corner, and this time, the forecasted 15 million tourists arriving in Paris will be watching more than just the games.
Footnotes:
Daniel-Yaw Miller. “Inside the Big Business of Styling Athletes.” The Business of Fashion, 10 Oct. 2023.
Daniel-Yaw Miller. “Inside the Big Business of Styling Athletes.”
Miller, Daniel-Yaw. “Inside the Big Business of Styling Athletes.”
“Tiffany & Co. And Artist Daniel Arsham Celebrate NBA® All-Star Weekend with Immersive Pop-up.” NBA.com, 17 Feb. 2022.
Charlie Teasdale, “How Athletes Became Fashion’s Biggest Influencers.” Esquire, 26 Jan. 2024.
G.H. Mumm. “G.H.Mumm X Miles Chamley Watson.” G.H.Mumm.
Olympics. “Miles Chamley-Watson: A fencer’s crossover to the fashion world.” Olympics.com, 4 February 2021.
Robert Williams, “LVMH Inks Blockbuster Olympics Deal.” The Business of Fashion, 24 July 2023.
LVMH, “With 100 days to go, “LVMH and Berluti reveal Team France’s outfits,” 17 April 2024.
Charlie Teasdale, “Can Athletes Sell Designer Clothes? Fashion Brands Certainly Think So,” Esquire, 26 January 2024.
Lily Holmes
Luxury Editor, MADE IN BED