Sailing to Paris 2024 Olympics with Louis Vuitton Nautical Summer Capsule, Crewed by Women
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Louis Vuitton is in Olympic Games Paris 2024 countdown, as a lead brand in LVMH’s role as a top sponsor of this summer’s games.
Dropping the new Louis Vuitton Nautical Capsule 2024 this weekend reminds us that some fashion trends truly possess heritage status — in the way that the Olympics are heritage.
In the world of heritage luxury and heritage fashion, Louis Vuitton, founded in 1954, has grand dame status, thanks to the vision of Bernard Arnault and Louis Vuitton Malletier, the brand’s founder.
One fact that AOC’s favorite tycoon can’t change is that French luxury brand Hermès was established in 1837 by Thierry Hermès, 17 years earlier than Vuitton. The house originally produced saddles and other equestrian supplies in the way that Louis Vuitton produced trunks and luggage for global travelers. There wasn’t a Fortuny pleat in the house.
AOC puts a pin in Louis Vuitton for a moment, to look at the history of the Olympic Games and sailing. Anne of Carversville readers understand that as a storyteller — first and foremost — our writing has a degree of historical complexity absent in all other fashion websites. We can never resist the next voyage.
The High Seas and Humanity
Anne is reminded that the development of boats, rafts and commercial water transit — humans on the high seas and not only on land — is a cornerstone of the evolution of human civilization.
Olympic sailing, also known as yachting until 2000, became part of the Olympic Games in 1896 during the first modern Olympics held in Athens, Greece. Sailing events were initially scheduled to be held in the Mediterranean Sea, near the coast of Athens.
However, the scheduled sailing events did not happen due to ‘technical difficulties’ that included Greece having no boats and a lack of foreign entries.
The United States delegation arrived by ship in Athens harbor in 1896 as a total of 13 European nations — plus America — stepped onto this nascent international stage. Many athletes came by sea.
The Olympics have existed as a symbol of peace and unity in the world, despite its infrequent political traumas and terrorist incidents. If humans are wired to fight each other for status and laurel crowns, let them do it in competitive sports and not war.
One worries about Paris 2024, however, given our current Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza.
Women, Sailing and the Olympics
The world has changed almost beyond recognition since the summer of 1924 — the last time Paris hosted the summer Olympics. One simple statistic grabs our attention immediately: 2954 men competed in the 1924 games and 135 women.
As another fast-fact of interest, Paris also hosted the summer Olympics in 1900. In the City of Lights the scheduled Olympic sailing competition cancelled in1896 did occur; and women gained status beyond their small numbers as athletes.
Hélène de Pourtalès emerged victorious in the 1-2 ton sailing event, making her the first woman to win gold at the Olympic Games and marking a turning point in the sport of sailing in what was then a gender-neutral Olympic sport in 1900.
Representing Switzerland, Hélène de Pourtalès was supported by her father's cousin, the famous sailor Charles Oliver Iselin, six times a winner of the America's Cup.
His second wife, Edith Hope Goddard Iselin, was a pioneer in the sport and the first woman to crew an America's Cup yacht in 1895.
In 1988, at the Seoul Olympics, women’s sailing became its own category at the Olympic Games. In 1948 the IOC decided that sailing events would only be open to men, a decision later reversed. In 2016, sailing was one of the first Olympic sports to introduce a compulsory mixed-gender event called the Mixed Multihull.
European Colonies in Olympic History
One wonders about the early participation of athletes from European colonies in the Olympic Games. When the modern Olympics were revived in Athens in 1896, the competition was primarily a showcase for so-called Caucasian athletes from Europe and North America.
As the Games evolved, so too did the representation of competitors from around the globe.
By the 1900 Paris Olympics, a more diverse group of participants had started to emerge. Notably, these Games saw athletes from British India and other colonies compete under their colonial flags.
This inclusion marked a significant but complex milestone: 1] it symbolized a step towards global representation in sports but also 2] the event underscored the prevailing colonial hierarchies of the time.
AOC will deal with colonialism and the Olympics in a separate post, as our focus here is sailing, related water-sports activities and this weekend’s Louis Vuitton Nautical Capsule 2024 drop.
Louis Vuitton and The Americas Cup
Louis Vuitton's foray into the prestigious realm of sailing and water sports and its premier position of sponsorship under the LVMH umbrella of the Paris 2024 Summer Games has left an indelible mark on the maritime competition landscape.
Its status is not new, however. This luxury brand has seamlessly merged the worlds of high fashion and high seas, particularly through its involvement in sponsoring the America's Cup Challenger Selection Series since 1983. The event was subsequently renamed the Louis Vuitton Cup and it culminates in the race for a new America’s Cup Winner.
The America’s cup is the oldest international sporting trophy — dating back to 1851 – and stands as one of the hardest sporting endeavours, testing the skills and grit of sailors worldwide.
The New York Yacht Club, one of the most prestigious clubs in the world, held the trophy for 132 years before losing it in 1983 to Australia. Since then, the Cup has only been won by teams from the United States, Switzerland, and the current Defender of the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
August 22-October 12, 2024 in Barcelona
With the closing night of the Paris Olympics on August 11, the monied crowd will pack up their Louis Vuitton Nautical Summer clothes and head to Barcelona, with 11 days of southern Europe exploration to fill their calendars.
The Arnault family will probably be quite busy, however.
The Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Barcelona official opening ceremony will be held in Barcelona on the 22nd of August 2024. The final Preliminary Regatta and the Louis Vuitton Cup [Challenger Selection Series] will follow, leading up to the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Match starting on the 12th of October 2024.
The unique format of the Cup sees the Defender of the trophy automatically entitled to race in the final Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Match whereas the Challengers will undertake a series to find the top yacht to take on the Emirates Team New Zealand, current holders of the America’s Cup.
Women Get Their Own Puig America’s Cup Race
Two weeks ago, it was announced that for the first time in the 173-year history of the America’s Cup, there will be a stand-alone women’s event. The Puig Women’s America’s Cup - open to all female athletes regardless of age — brings Puig’s roster of smaller brands into the corporate sponsorship fold of promoting female excellence in sports. They include Carolina Herrera, Christian Louboutin, Dries Van Noten, Jean Paul Gaultier, Nina Ricci, Rabanne and many more.
Louis Vuitton's support of the America's Cup — now joined by Puig sponsoring the Women’s America’s Cup— not only elevates the overall competition but also underscores the ongoing commitment to elite sporting events worldwide by luxury brands.
This partnership exemplifies the fusion of tradition and modernity, creating a harmonious blend of craftsmanship and athleticism on a global stage. AOC notes that a significant correlation exists between career and overall life success and athleticism — for men, women and all other human variations.
We believe strongly that supporting a luxury brand goes far beyond loving the design of its latest must-have handbag. We leave those raves to others.
Sports As An Altar of Worship
Anne of Carversville examines luxury brands through a much more intimate and discerning lens. Are they perfect? No. And some cause us to count to 10 before writing one word. But neither am I perfect, as she who writes about these brands.
This post triggered by the Louis Vuitton Nautical Capsule 2024 uncovered much more about women sailors in history, than I know about. Speaking metaphorically, I have quite a stack of paperwork.
Expect AOC to share our discoveries in the coming weeks, as we move our way forwards geographically and spiritually to Paris. This American comes humbly this year to Olympic history, with no idea where my country is going in November.
For now, I am doing my best to promote values that I believe in, ones that advance democratic values of inclusion; a greater prosperity for all and not only the 1%; and greater entrepreneurship, because somebody’s got to pay the bills in this country.
In case you need another big red flag waved before your reading eyes — after years of this unwavering theme, I say: Vive la France. ~ Anne
