Crafting Dreams: LVMH’s Role in Making Paris 2024 the Most Luxurious Olympics Yet

The 2024 Olympics are taking us to the (extremely well-clad) lap of luxury: Paris, and LVMH really understood the assignment. In a first for sports investment at this scale for the luxury industry, LVMH, which today comprises more than 70 brands (including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Loewe, and Fendi), is believed to have paid $166 million to be a Creative Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. The partnership promises to be more than just a branding exercise; it’s a multi-faceted collaboration involving several LVMH Maisons.

Having worked in the sneaker business, the crossover between luxury and sport didn’t take me by surprise. Designing sneakers and sportswear apparel through brand collaborations (as Loewe and Dior have been) is much simpler than taking on the challenge of crafting an authentic, multi-channel narrative that ties luxury and sport together on a global stage. LVMH’s ambitious undertaking to merge these two distinct worlds is a significant and impactful undertaking.

Luxury brands aren’t exactly trying to be inclusive and accessible, so what is LVMH hoping to achieve with the visibility from being an Olympic?

Let’s peel the croissant. 🥐

The LVMH & Olympics Partnership

LVMH’s partnership with the Paris 2024 Olympics is more than just a branding exercise; it is a showcase of French excellence and craftsmanship on a global stage. In addition to the French athletes it is sponsoring, several iconic Maisons under the LVMH umbrella are contributing directly to this collaboration, ensuring there’s a little something to interest everybody:

Berluti, renowned for its bespoke menswear and footwear, is playing a pivotal role by designing the attire for the Olympic and Paralympic officials as well as for Team France. The Maison is providing custom-tailored tuxedos, shirts, belts, scarves, pocket squares, and shoes.

Chaumet, the historic Parisian jeweler has been entrusted with the design and creation of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic medals, the first jeweler in the history of the Games to have the honor of doing so. The medals will feature a hexagonal piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower, symbolizing French craftsmanship and the iconic Parisian landmark. The design also includes the Olympic flame and rings, as well as Chaumet’s signature sunburst pattern, which represents sporting achievements and Parisian pride. The collaboration showcases the Maison’s ability to blend tradition with contemporary design, elevating the status of the medals to pieces of art.

Louis Vuitton has designed and crafted elegant trunks to protect and display the medals and torches for the Games, highlighting their commitment to both functionality and luxury. The Maison has also created bespoke medal trays and victory ceremony outfits, combining traditional savoir-faire with contemporary design. I personally love the outfits, which are “inspired by the 1924 Games in Paris with a resolutely modern look.”

Sephora, the most mass-market brand in the LVMH portfolio, will be setting up beauty stations across the Games venues. These beauty stations will highlight Sephora’s expertise in beauty and personal care, with their top hair and makeup experts ensuring that everyone involved in the Games looks their best. This initiative not only enhances the Olympic experience but also underscores Sephora’s goal to promote well-being and confidence through beauty as well as championing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Dior is rumored to be involved in the opening and victory ceremonies in some shape or form, as hinted on The Maison of All Victories, a thoughtfully crafted immersive 3D digital platform that LVMH has created to showcase its work for the Olympics.

The choice of brands is an interesting point to note. I love that LVMH chose NOT to include Loewe directly in the Olympics despite already having made forays into sportswear through the brand. It’s a strategic decision to make inroads with its other luxury brands that would otherwise struggle to forge a natural connection to sport, like Chaumet. I foresee a lot more sport-inspired jewelry and apparel coming from these brands after the Games.

Athlete Sponsorships

Over the past year, the luxury conglomerate has revealed strategic sponsorships of seven Olympic & Paralympic athletes across swimming, football, fencing, gymnastics, track & field, wheelchair tennis, and paracycling, with Louis Vuitton sponsoring four men and Dior sponsoring three women. Each athlete’s story has been told via a beautifully shot minute-long video vignette, sharing their journey in their pursuit of excellence in a wonderfully vulnerable way. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the videos and not just because I love hearing people speak French; the visuals, audio scores, and storylines are compelling and left me feeling invested in these athletes. My favorite stories were of two Paralympic athletes: Pauline Déroulède and Timothée Adolphe, both of whom I’ll now be looking out for at the Games.

Leveraging Paris & Historical Sites for Authentic Engagement

Over the past few years, LVMH has strategically invested in making Paris its playground. It’s been building its presence in the city through immersive multi-channel experiential marketing, from flagship retail stores to fine dining (Monsieur Dior) and hospitality (Cheval Blanc and the upcoming luxury hotel on Champs-Élysées set to open in 2026). It is leveraging all of these, as well as the historical sites associated with its various Maisons, to create events and build anticipation for the Olympics. This includes cultural visits to emblematic locations such as the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior Museum, Moët & Chandon, and Cognac in Hennessy. These initiatives tie an authentic connection to the brand’s roots while educating consumers and celebrating LVMH’s rich heritage in luxury.

LVMH’s Evolving Target Audience

Traditionally, the luxury conglomerate has appealed to high-net-worth individuals aged 35-54 and luxury connoisseurs who value exclusivity, heritage, and craftsmanship. However, in recent years, LVMH—like most D2C companies—has come to realize that winning with younger, aspirational consumers like affluent millennials and Gen Z consumers aged 18-34 is crucial for future growth. As a result, LVMH has consistently increased its marketing spend (up 25% between 2022 and 2023), expanding their investments from brick-and-mortar to digital platforms popular among younger consumers, like TikTok and Instagram. By focusing on digital channels and leveraging the influence of contemporary tastemakers like Pharrell Williams and Billie Eilish, LVMH has successfully modernized its marketing approach.

These younger viewers are flocking to the Olympics, with over 50% of digital viewers for the Tokyo 2020 Games aged 18-34, the exact demographic LVMH is looking to tap. The partnership with the Games enables the company to engage this younger audience, leveraging the event’s reach to boost long-term growth without compromising on its exclusivity.

LVMH is On Track for Gold

This partnership is a savvy move that not only celebrates luxury, sport, and Parisian heritage but also modernizes the brand further. I also suspect that this is only the beginning of a much broader strategy for the conglomerate to tap the sports market through its various Maisons.

The execution of their Olympic experience so far has been a class act that cannot be denied, regardless of whether you’re a fan of their brands. The athlete vignettes have been visually on point and tied to LVMH brands through authentic narratives that pay homage to excellence and craftsmanship. The thoughtfully crafted cultural journey across Paris showcases the unique ways in which each of the LVMH Maisons embodies excellence. The uniforms and medals are stunning. The brand videos manage to exude reverence for both craftsmanship and sport.

LVMH’s Olympic sponsorship is reminiscent of Rolex’s approach to sports sponsorship. Both brands emphasize excellence, precision, and luxury. While Rolex focuses on exclusive sports like tennis, golf, and yachting to highlight timeless elegance and precision, LVMH leverages the broad and global appeal of the Olympics to showcase its diverse range of luxury offerings, allowing them to reach a wider, more varied audience.

Bravo, LVMH, for not only creating a genuine connection between the Olympics and luxury but managing to do so across so many disciplines. The stakes are higher than ever with the Games in your home court, and the world will be waiting to see how you continue to show up over the next two months.