DREAM TEAM

The Paris Olympics and the America's Cup were only the beginning for Louis Vuitton's winning streak in sport. Next up? Formula 1

- WORDS HENRIK LISCHKE

It's a baseless cliché that fashionable types don't care about sport. How else would you explain Chanel fashion show guests attending a Manchester United match last year ahead of the brand's Métiers d'Art show in the city? Or professional boxer Anthony Joshua walking the runway for Hugo Boss - and the crowd losing their minds? No doubt, there's a longstanding fascination within fashion for sport, one that has turned into a business opportunity for the luxury market to double down on.

For Louis Vuitton and its parent company LVMH, the summer of sport was a winning streak. At this year's Paris Olympics, the luxury company outpaced German sportswear giant adidas, with an earned media value of £48m (Dior came in at £46.6m), compared to adidas's £22.7m, according to WeArisma. It was the MVP during all key moments: from the journey of the Olympic torch in a trunk in the brand's iconic monogram to the opening ceremony show and the medal trays in the signature Damier, checked pattern, Vuitton was omnipresent throughout.

And the summer of sport didn't draw to a close with the end of the Olympics and Paralympics. 'Victory Travels In Vuitton' spanned Barcelona too, as the French house returned as the title partner of the world's most prestigious sailing competition, the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup, with which the company has a longstanding history. It first collaborated with the competition in 1983, marking the first-ever sports partnership in the history of the brand.