The Rise of Luxury Fashion in Sport
The overlapping of the sporting and fashion world is hardly a new phenomenon. Take Michael Jordan’s partnership with Nike, for example. This collaboration saw the two worlds merge into one of the most iconic, fashionable sporty products — the Air Jordans — that continues to appeal to consumers across both the sporting and fashion camps.
However, the collaboration between sports brands and high-end fashion is a relatively new trend. The growing boom in luxury and sportswear crossovers could be down to a huge increase in demand for athleisure wear, resulting in iconic collaborations like CDG x Salomon and Jacquemus x Nike.
But more recently, high-end fashion brands have been making moves to partner directly with sporting events and athletes — the most notable of which is LVMH becoming a premium partner of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. Could this be the start of a new luxury fashion x sport era?
Luxury Brands as Sporting Partners
The crossover of the Olympic Games and luxury fashion is just one of the latest in iconic partnerships between luxury brands and sports. The last three years has seen several notable collaborations.
This includes a partnership between Giorgio Armani and the Italian men’s national soccer team for the European Football Championship 2024. The team sported an Armani suit design at the championships, with ITALIA written across the back of the suit jacket. While it’s not the soccer kit itself, the two brands found a way to collaborate in a way that remained authentic.
Prada took a similar approach with their partnership with China’s national women’s soccer team, announced just before the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023. The Italian luxury house provided the team with outfits for the players and representatives during their travels, as well as formal event appearances.
These collaborations are more than just marketing strategies, representing a deeper shift. Sports teams and athletes becoming ambassadors for luxury brands helps to democratize high fashion, making it more accessible and relevant to a much wider audience.
Fashion Houses Partner With Sporting Competitions
In a bid to expand their horizons even further, luxury fashion houses are also turning their attention to limited edition collections inspired by sporting events.
One example is the Ralph Lauren x Wimbledon Collection 2024. The designs capture the spirit of Wimbledon, combining Ralph Lauren’s preppy, American style with the sophistication of one of tennis’ most prestigious tournaments. This spectator-heavy sport has always been a fashion moment, with celebrities gracing the courts daily in their luxury designer wear.
Another potentially more surprising collection was Chanel’s Formula 1 T-shirts. They were spotted on influencers that may not usually post about the sporting event, demonstrating how these collections can help both the sporting competitions and luxury brands reach new audiences.
By associating themselves with the most prestigious sporting events, luxury brands can enhance their own prestige and desirability. These collaborations create a sense of exclusivity and urgency, as fans and fashion enthusiasts alike scramble to get their hands on the limited-edition items.
Athletes as Luxury Models
Some of the top athletes in the world are celebrities in their own right. They have some of the biggest fanbases in the world, with diehard fans who truly look up to them.
It’s not necessarily new to see soccer players like Ronaldo and David Beckham teaming up with heritage luxury houses on marketing campaigns, but when Skims teamed up with top athletes Nick Bosa, Neymar Santos, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it sent waves through the sporting and fashion worlds. As a newer, celebrity-owned brand it helped to cement Skim’s position within the luxury market.
18 year old Emma Raducanu shot to fame after winning the US open back in 2021. The fashion world quickly picked up on her newfound fame, inviting her to prestigious events including the Met Gala. At the world premiere of No Time To Die, one of the latest installments in the James Bond movie franchise, she wore a Grecian-style dress by Maria Grazia Chiuri for Dior. This turned out to be a sign of what was to come, with Dior announcing her as their newest global ambassador not long after.
The Power of Luxury and Sport
The types of partnerships we’ve explored can be incredibly beneficial for luxury brands. The sports sector’s broad appeal across various demographics, including age, gender, culture, traditions, and backgrounds, makes it an almost unlimited market for luxury brands to tap into. For instance, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup drew a record attendance with more than 1.9 million fans watching the games. The NBA also set a record attendance in the 2022 to 2023 season, with more than 22.2 million fans showing up to the games. And that doesn’t even include how many people tuned in on their TVs or online.
Fan bases for sports are on a global level, meaning that collaborating with just one athlete or event can get eyes on your brand from all over the world. We’re excited to watch how the Paris Olympics will fuel further change within the luxury industry, spearheaded by LVMH.
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