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Dressed to Impress: A Look at the Uniforms Berluti Designed for French Olympic Teams
MILAN — Olympic fever is getting higher and higher.
As sportswear brands have started to lay their cards on the table and reveal the gear they designed for national teams — including Nike’s kits for the U.S. athletes and Lululemon’s for Team Canada earlier this month — Berluti on Wednesday will officially unveil the uniforms it created for Team France to wear at the opening ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games on July 26 and Aug. 28, respectively.
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The LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-controlled brand, which chose the date for the reveal as it begins the 100-day countdown to the event, was guided by two key words in the creative process: elegance and comfort. Within these boundaries, the brand worked on a concept that could instantly project both French sophistication and its Made in Italy craftsmanship on a global scale.
“It is a unique opportunity for our group and one of our French maisons, Berluti, to dress the French athletes from head to toe for the opening ceremonies. This is one of the most watched events in the world, often with several billion spectators around the globe,” said Antoine Arnault, chairman of Berluti and head of communication, image and environment at LVMH.
“A project like this comes along once in a lifetime and I hope that those who see the outfits now, on July 26 or on August 28 for the Olympic and Paralympic opening ceremonies, will recognize all the passion and craftsmanship of the Berluti teams who created this special order of 1,500 outfits with the same care as if they were making a 100 percent made-to-measure suit and shoes,” he said.
Berluti’s ready-to-wear collection and merchandising director Vanessa Le Goff said the team “had carte blanche about the concept of the uniforms, as long as they were realized in a spirit of sustainability.”
“We have always thought about excellence, so of course all fabrics are certified and the suppliers that produced the pieces are the same ones we work with for our own collections,” said Le Goff, describing the project as a “real moment of collective pride” for the company and its artisans.
For the occasion, the in-house team collaborated with Carine Roitfeld, who suggested the tuxedo as a starting point of the designs, since for the first time the opening ceremony won’t take place in a stadium but in the heart of the city, along the Seine river, at dusk. The festive mood and bold logistics promise to offer a not-to-miss moment, with the event likely to be the largest ceremony in Games history as it will be open to more than 300,000 ticketholder and plenty of onlookers, in addition to those tuning in remotely from the rest of the world.
“This has of course been an unprecedented project for me,” Roitfeld said about dressing the 1,500 athletes and coming up with outfits “worthy of such a historic moment.”
“I immediately opted for the tuxedo — a resolutely French garment — paired with a Berluti signature patina-effect shawl collar in the French national colors. All eyes will be on the athletes and coaches for the big day, so I hope that they will be feeling stylish,” she added.
The sartorial choice was tweaked into different versions to accommodate athletes’ demands and make them feel at ease. While male athletes will don a classic midnight-blue wool tuxedo, female competitors will have a sleeveless option and will be given the choice between wearing pants or a wrap-around skirt in silk.
Ditto for shoes, Berluti’s signature category, produced at its manufacturing plant in Ferrara, Italy. For the occasion, the brand reworked the Lorenzo loafer, traditionally for men, to adapt it to women’s sizing. Crafted from supple leather and with an extra flexible sole, the lightweight style comes in navy finished off with Berluti’s signature patina effect in black. Red stitching standing out on the side is an added detail, with the shade exclusive for the Games’ athletes.
Women will be able to choose between the Lorenzo loafer and the Shadow sneaker, which will be the go-to option for male athletes, too. The sporty style was first introduced by Berluti’s former designer Kris Van Assche — whose four-year tenure ended in 2021 — at the request of Arnault. The sneaker has since become one of the brand’s biggest hits, thanks to its mesh upper, rubber sole and Venezia leather details on the heel and shoe tongue.
In the version created exclusively for the opening ceremonies, the style is rendered in an all-navy design with black details. The upper is embroidered with the Berluti logo on the side as well as “Paris 2024” lettering on the ankle. Yet the main feat is its leather details, here revisited with a gradient effect mixing the French flag’s colors.
The national bleu, blanc and rouge were reprised in many details enriching the overall outfit. In addition to the shawl collars of jackets and vests, the colors also define pocket squares and scarves to tie around the neck. Leather belts with Berluti’s signature buckle were hand-painted to reprise the same effect, which in its own way nicely links to the blurred concept of the French team’s sport kits for the actual competitions designed by Pigalle Paris founder Stéphane Ashpool and supplied by Le Coq Sportif.
In Berluti’s outfits, references to the French flag were additionally made with subtle blue and red stitching on the eyelets of the white shirts or on the inside labels reading “Artisan of All Victories,” the tag line LVMH picked when signing on as a premium partner of the global sports event. An additional label stitched on linings reiterates the role of the house’s artisans in the creation of the garments and their proximity to athletes.
“It’s to show that we’re extremely proud to dress up our athletes and we want them to be super proud also,” said Le Goff, who is one the 180 people involved in the project.
The enthusiasm was an extra driver enabling the quick turnaround of the outfits’ creation, with the first sketches drawn in September and the final designs fine-tuned by November last year, also thanks to a constant dialogue between Berluti and the athletes.
Le Goff said the number-one priority was to shy away from costume-y uniforms and make the delegations feel comfortable, as most of the athletes “are used to be wearing sporty outfits most of the time, and they were a bit scared to look like stiff, maybe.”
The feedback the Berluti team received was pivotal in defining style decisions, especially those coming from the Paralympic athletes. For one, the idea of opting for full or pleated skirts was dropped after realizing how impractical it could have been for athletes in a wheelchair, while initial plans to offer the Lorenzo loafer in a mule version were scratched after athletes with artificial limbs found the original style more comfortable for its heightened grip.
Former French fencer and Olympic gold medalist Brice Guyart was among those facilitating these conversations due to his active role as part of the Games’ committee, in addition to bringing his own experience to the table.
“Usually you put the athlete in a uniform and that’s it. This time, it’s really tailor-made: We will have retouches and fittings until the last day for every athlete, so that they can really feel good in the uniform,” Guyart said. “Also for the Paralympics, there might be a lot of changes, because some of the athletes might want their handicaps to be seen, while others won’t. So [the outfit] is totally adjustable,” he added.
Guyart noted how this approach, in tandem with the handmade finishing on the leather details, contributes to make each piece unique, making athletes feel extra special on such an occasion. He also highlighted how noble fabrics like silk and wool were deployed in the outfits, making these different compared to sportier and more technical gear from the past or for other national teams.
“I remember my past opening ceremonies — when I used to see the American delegation, I was always [positively stunned],” Guyart recalled. “We will be more than usual because we’re the hosting country and there will be a bigger delegation, and to be also well-dressed is really important for the confidence and the impact we will have on others in that moment….There’s a mental aspect to it: the first medals will be won at the opening ceremony,” he concluded.
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