With 100 days to go, LVMH and Berluti reveal Team France’s outfits for the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024

For 2024, Team France is set tostand outright from thebeginning of the Games.

French house Berluti, founded in Paris in 1895, has pulled out all the stops in styling Team France for the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. 

Outfitting outstanding athletes and coaches for a momentous occasion

For the partnership between LVMH and the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, Berluti has brought together the savoir-faire and experience of its artisans to ensure that the French athletes look their very best for the Opening Ceremonies Paris 2024 on July 26th and August 28th.

Berluti has taken on a challenge of athletic proportions to help the selected French athletes of Paris 2024 make an impression right from the starting line. In collaboration with the athletes, as well as the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee and the French Paralympic and Sports Committee, every one of the Maison’s teams devoted months of energy and creativity to designing an outfit that embodies true elegance à la française. Berluti has reprised the stylistic codes that make up its identity, such as noble materials and patina effects, to create a tuxedo-inspired outfit adapted to a wide range of body types. 

The Opening Ceremonies will see French athletes and coaches clad in Berluti tuxedos and shoes, all custom-tailored to immortalize this unique occasion that already represents a significant achievement for any sportsperson – that of being selected to take part in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. 

This summer, Berluti’s artisans will be focused on one key objective of showcasing both the Maison’s savoir-faire and France’s athletes to the whole world. 

I.  Berluti: a unique French house 

Between offbeat classics and technical virtuosity, Maison Berluti has always remained true to its character. Its story began in 1895, when a young, 30-year-old Italian came to Paris to practice his trade as a master shoemaker. His first model was a lace-up court shoe, which he dubbed the Alessandro after his given name, while offering the Maison his surname of Berluti.

For generations, this French house has continued to cultivate its exceptional savoir-faire, mastering form, leatherwork and patina, all to craft its models of unparalleled elegance and comfort. Since its creation, Berluti has made shoes for men of refinement, including the likes of Jean Cocteau, Andy Warhol and Marcello Mastroianni. Its boutiques have played host to many distinguished clients, all of them passionate about and enticed by the timeless elegance of its exceptional shoes, which stand as genuine works of art. 

Much more than a prestigious shoemaker, Berluti has been the constant signature of a certain art of living. It has naturally come to explore new realms of expression, such as leather goods in 2005 and ready-to-wear in 2011. Berluti has continually evolved to become the reference for men’s elegance. Through its Paris ateliers on Rue Marbeuf and Rue de Sèvres, it also offers a unique, bespoke service that provides its clients with toe-to-top tailoring.  

Today, Berluti once more proves its daring and creativity by designing and producing the Team France outfits for both Opening Ceremonies of Paris 2024. This exercise in style also marks historic firsts for the Maison both in creating outfits for women and for an event of such tremendous scope.

II. Styling Team France: a very special order 

Berluti called upon the efforts of every one of its expert artisans to create the 1,500 outfits for Team France. The Maison will dress each member of the team for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 from toe to top, including tuxedo, shirt, belt, scarf or pocket square, and shoes. The entire ensemble will be presented in a bag created especially for the occasion.

These outfits were designed in France and made in Italy at the ateliers that traditionally produce the Maison’s collections, using fabrics sourced exclusively within Europe. All the garments comply with Berluti’s exacting criteria regarding quality and finish.  

Naturally, the outfits must also meet certain requirements in line with the athletes and the event. To cater to all body shapes and ensure a perfect fit for each athlete, Berluti has designed and crafted the outfits in a vast array of sizes, with clothing from 3XS to 6XL and shoes in sizes 1 to 22. In doing so, the Maison has expanded its standard size chart to offer the 14 sizes required by all the hopefuls on Team France.  

For several months, under the creative direction of Fashion Consultant and Stylist Carine Roitfeld, the Maison consulted the athletes themselves along with the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee and the French Paralympic and Sports Committee, to gather their experiences and understand their specific needs. The resulting outfits brim with style, elegance, flexibility, and comfort, leaving each athlete free of constraints in the runup to the major sporting events and intense Opening Ceremonies. These outfits have been designed to invoke pride among the French athletes and coaches and to live up to their ambitions. By wearing them, the members of Team France will become ambassadors of French savoir-faire, all primed to make a lasting impression during this momentous occasion. 

III. Elegance à la française for Team France 

Replete with a sense of ceremony, the tuxedo designed for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 is cut from elegant, midnight-blue wool. The jacket includes a shawl collar that sports a motif inspired by an all-new “French flag” patina. This motif has been created especially for the occasion in shades of blue and red, standing as a tribute to the Maison’s historic savoir-faire. Forming the centrepiece of each French athlete’s outfit, the jacket is also presented in a sleeveless version [for women].

This garment will be paired with a white shirt ([sleeved for men and sleeveless for women] with or without sleeves) cut from a cotton-silk blend. 

Female athletes will be able to choose between trousers with a trim or an elegant silk wrap-around skirt.  

Gracing the men’s feet will be a pair of Berluti Shadow trainers, whose emblematic navy blue has been redesigned with the French national colours. The female athletes and coaches, meanwhile, will sport either the Shadow or the Maison’s flexible Lorenzo leather loafer. 

Key figures: 

• Over 180 people involved in the project 
  

Outfits: 

• Over 1,500 outfits crafted for the French team 
• Over 26,000 ft of fabric used and over 60 miles of stitches, more than the distance run in 2 marathons 
  

Shoes: 

• 2 final models chosen from the over 300 3D models produced by the design team 
• 384,000 stitches required for 1 pair of Shadow sneakers  
• 1.2 miles of laces used across all the pairs of Shadows worn by Team France 
• Shoe sizes ranging between 1 and 22 

“Following the medals designed by Maison Chaumet, and the trunks for medals and torches crafted by Maison Louis Vuitton, I am proud to unveil the outfits designed by Berluti for our French athletes and coaches to wear at the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. These outfits represent all the savoir-faire and creativity of Berluti, and I am certain that they will enable our athletes to shine for all the world to see. It brings me a great thrill to accompany each athlete during such a momentous occasion in their life!” – Antoine Arnault, LVMH Image & Environment 

“Berluti has been given an extraordinary opportunity in styling Team France for the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. I am delighted with the outcome of this creative collaboration between our artisans and the French athletes, as well as the teams of Tony Estanguet, Marie-Amélie Le Fur and David Lappartient. With this outfit, we have sought to honour French elegance and to serve French athletes and coaches. In my eyes, it has been a resounding success!” - Jean-Marc Mansvelt, CEO of Berluti 

“This has of course been an unprecedented project for me: dressing 1,500 athletes for a worldwide event! I had to find a way to marry together comfort and elegance in crafting an outfit that would be 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 colours. All eyes will be on the athletes and coaches for the big day, so I hope that they will be feeling stylish. I want them to be as proud to wear their outfit as I have been to contribute to this fantastic project.” – Carine Roitfeld, Fashion Consultant and Stylist

“100 years after our nation last played host to the Summer Olympics and 100 days until Paris 2024, France is proud and excited to welcome the world. As the athletes of Team France are gearing up to take part in this historic event on home soil, they will have the honour of wearing the outfits of Berluti during the spectacular Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. As a Maison of the LVMH Group—a Premium Partner of Paris 2024—Berluti utterly embodies French prestige and excellence. We are proud to show the very best of our nation with these Berluti Outfit, which will serve as a magnificent testament to these exceptional Games.” – Tony Estanguet,  President of Paris 2024