The Medals trunk will be notably presented at the Champions Park (All photos: LVMH)
As the world gears up for the Paris Olympics and Paralympics in July, the organising committee has teased fervent sporting fans with multiple surprise collaborations. First, it was news about jewellery house Chaumet designing the medals, produced from fragments of scrapped iron left behind during the Eiffel Tower’s original 1889 construction.
Now, the French maison’s parent company LVMH has just announced Louis Vuitton will be crafting custom-made trunks to store the torches and medals that will be bestowed on winning athletes this summer.
Embodying the art of travel, Louis Vuitton presents two models of trunks reminiscent of its cardinal values of high quality and innovation since 1854. These XXL “wardrobes”, marketed by Gaston Louis Vuitton as early as 1875, were designed to open vertically while meeting the specifications of the American Railroad Company. Previously constructed for aristocrats and then the wealthy, they were adapted for sports competition at the end of the 2010s as trunks to house some of the world’s greatest trophies such as the Fifa World Cup, the America’s Cup and the Davis Cup.
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For the upcoming Games, the bespoke medals carrier will be equipped with 16 poplar drawers in each case and 30 in the central part — all holding the 468 pieces made by Chaumet. The interior is trimmed in black leather to protect against scratches, while the exterior features the brand’s emblematic monogrammed canvas.
The second trunk, dedicated to the torches, will be decked out with checkerboard canvas and chrome-plated steel, crafted by acclaimed master designer Mathieu Lehanneur, known for conceiving speculative electric cars for Renault and leading Huawei’s design research centre in Paris. The Olympic relay, formed by 11,000 torch bearers, will first cast a glow in Marseille on May 8 from Athens, Greece, before travelling across 65 French territories in an epic 68-day journey.
This article first appeared on Apr 15, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
