Article published on harpersbazaararbia.com, 2 July 2024
Off the back of sport-infused Haute Couture shows, the 2024 Summer Olympics is set to be imbued with a distinct Parisian savoir-faire.
Paris is renowned as the global fashion capital, presenting the world with sartorial splendour twice a year during Haute Couture Week.
Held last week from June 24 to June 27, the four-day event precedes another global phenomenon soon to be commencing in the The City of Lights: the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The ancient sporting tournament, steeped in tradition and culture, will commence in Paris on July 26, a hundred years after it first hosted the Games.
If there’s anything these two events have in common it’s that they’re both reserved for best of the best. From visionary designers to impeccable athletes, viewers watch in awe as magic unfolds, both on the runway and in the sporting arena.
This year, National Olympic Day, held on June 23 to honour the founding of the International Olympic Committee in Paris in 1894, took place just a day before Haute Couture Week began, foreboding a stunning fusion of sport and style during the Autumn/Winter 2024 shows.
To open the showcase, Maria Grazia Chirui presented Dior’s Haute Couture collection last Monday, transporting guests to Ancient Olympia with life-size mosaics of female athletes on the walls, and a collection that put a couture twist on the toga. Flawlessly-draped fabrics and flowing silhouettes were combined with golden accents and gladiator sandals, while belts, braids, and soft, white tunics truly honed in on the sporting theme.
Also inspired by the centuries-old tournament, Thom Browne displayed his own take on avant-garde athleisure. The muslin-based collection, in a decidedly white colour palette, were adorned with gilded headpieces in laurel motifs, along with trainer running boots with spikes, a subtle nod towards sporting gear.
Now, as the fashion set make their way out of Paris and the sporting fans slowly trickle in, its not the last we’ll be seeing of the Olympics through a sartorial lens. In fact, with LVMH as the premium partner, this may well be the most stylish Olympic Games we’ve ever seen.
Illustrious French jeweller, Chaumet, is set to carefully-craft the winning medals. Featuring golden asymmetrical rays and a stamped piece of metal taken from the Eiffel Tower, star athletes will forever be endowed with a symbolic piece of Parisian heritage.
Then there is Louis Vuitton. The Maison’s famous monogram trunk will be re-imagined with Olympic sensibilities to encase each medal in its artisanal leather mastery. The house will also design a custom travel case for the Olympic torch as it makes its way through scenic French landscapes.
Alongside Dior and other up-and-coming designers, Louis Vuitton will design costumes for the event’s opening ceremony, while Ralph Lauren, Le Coq Sportif, and Ben Sherman, to name a few, have been tapped as the official outfitters for Team USA, Great Britain, and France, respectively.
In the broader fashion sphere, Olympic fever is catching on, as Dubai-based designer Rami Al Ali, launched a dynamic fashion film starring Olympic athletes Olivia Jean Gilles, Luna Kozacska, Nawal Meniker, and Maribel Koucke.
Chanel recently came out with a new high jewellery collection, titled Haute Joaillerie Sport, offering decadent gems infused with athletic design elements, while Lacoste has also launched a new capsule collection, inspired by the 1924 Paris Games.
Lead image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans
