This is not a review, but a view over how fashion and artisanal expertise inter-tangles with sports and how perhaps in South Africa, we have gone for too long without considering the synergy.
I recently read that this month & next month, at the Paris Olympics, medals will be presented to winning athletes on Louis Vuitton trays decorated with the French luxury house’s signature motifs, knowing how many affluent South African’s, including our political representatives shop-adorn Louis Vuitton, I find it very fitting to talk about their current PR stint around the Olympics.
The Louis Vuitton trays, crafted by artisans at the Beaulieu-sur-Layon workshop in the Maine-et-Loire region, feature the Maison’s timeless Damier canvas, created in 1888, and are lined with matte black leather, as a suble ode to the Louis Vuitton “Torches and Medals” Trunks will be the suble highlight of fashion meets sport and and ROI opportunity for the business.
“I think the trays are beautiful and very Vuitton,” said Antoine Arnault, LVMH’s head of communication, image, and environment. “We wanted to contribute not just as a creative partner of the Opening Ceremony, but to be present throughout the event including the sporting part, and we found this way to be present that is very discreet and at the same time, paradoxically, very visible.”
Each tray can hold two to six medals, all designed by jeweler Chaumet. This announcement of the Louis Vuitton trays being used for medal handovers at the Olympics is a brilliant idea one that instantly reminds me of the current Artisans of Mzansi call to schools by Allan Gray Makers. This initiative seeks to promote the probability and prospect of unearthing, educating, and producing future artisans in South Africa. You can read more about that initiative here.
The synergy between sports, arts, and culture offers endless possibilities for South Africa. The tapestry of craft, design, and dedication to brilliance seamlessly integrates these disciplines. Artisanship is a cultural exchange with the potential to create opportunities for our countrymen and women.
As a South African, I cannot celebrate the Olympic x Louis Vuitton news without thinking of ways to incorporate it into the South African landscape through my passions: sports, design, technology, and connectivity.
