Fashion Olympics: All You Need to Know About Fashion at the Opening Ceremony

From Dior couture gowns and Louis Vuitton costumes to 15 emerging designers present at the ceremony, here is everything you need to know about fashion at the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Dior

Lady Gaga’s vibrant tribute to iconic French cabaret star Zizi Jeanmarie, Aya Nakamura’s showstopper performance with the Republican Guard, Axelle Saint-Cirel singing breathtaking “La Marseillaise”, Juliette’s Armanet cover of the “Imagine” by John Lenon and Céline Dion’s comeback at the Eiffel Tower with Edith Piaf’s classic “Le Hymne à l’Amour’. The Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics was filled with moments to remember. Representing different cultures and music styles, all of the musicians, though, had one thing in common: they were all impeccably dressed in Christian Dior couture. These made-to-measure outfits were hand-crafted by Dior artisans in the Avenue Montaigne studio under the creative direction of Maria Grazia Churi. Some of the most delicate techniques included beading (Céline Dion’s georgette gown adorned with thousands of jewels, beads and fine pearls required more than 1,000 hours of work), hundreds of golden feathers positioned one by one for Nakamura’s asymmetrical dress, and collaboration with Clara Daugin, who created a system of electric lights for Juliette Armanet’s outfit that moved in melodic harmony during the performance.  

Louis Vuitton

The French specialist of travel trunks had an iconic moment of their own during the Opening ceremony: when the mysterious masked Olympic torch bearer paid a visit to Louis Vuitton’s ateliers at the Pont-Neuf bridge to discover the Medal Trunks. But that’s not all, National Opera Étoile dancer Guillaume Diop was dressed in Louis Vuitton by Pharrell Williams during his dancing performance on the roof of Hotel de Ville, Paris City Hall. So were rapper Rim’K, who shined in a red and black Damier checkboard shearling shirt, and Shaheem Sanchez, a pioneer of American Sign Language dancing, who performed in a Louis Vuitton suit under pouring rain to the hit “Supernature” by French electro legend Cerrone.

New forces of French fashion

Thomas Jolly, Artistic Director for the show, wanted the ceremony to be as inclusive as possible. That’s why he called his friend and frequent collaborator Daphné Bürki, who was in charge of the styling and costumes of the ceremony, to choose emerging talents for the Opening Ceremony. Burki asked artist and designer Charles de Vilmorin to imagine outfits with his signature colourful print for the Pont Neuf acrobatic dance performance. For the whimsical fashion show staged on the Passerelle Debilly, Alphonse Maitrepierre made a dress for Farida Khelfa, Kevin Germanier created costumes with his signature upcycled colourful feather for Paralympic champion fencer Beatrice “Bebe” Vio Grandis, while Victor Weinsanto imagined a silhouette in black organza for Ildjima Masrangar and Arthur Robert from Ouest Paris crafted a leather cowboy costume for model Marin Judas. Transgender model and fashion icon Raya Martigny marched in a catsuit in the colours of the French flag covered in more than 60,000 crystals, designed by Gilles Asquin from Asquin label, while Vincent Frederic-Colombo from La Creole dance company and designer of the eponymous fashion label wore his own creations on the catwalk. Finally, a specialist in genderless fashion, Jeanne Friot was asked to make Joan of Arc’s silver armour in leather for the mysterious Olympic flag bearer.

Text: Lidia Ageeva