PARIS — After years of preparation including an unprecedented security perimeter that deadlocked Paris’ city centre, hearts sank across the city Friday morning: It was raining. With so many things that could go wrong at the Paris 2024 Games’ ambitious opening ceremony on the Seine River, rain had not been top of mind.
But the history-making show went on despite intermittent downpours — setting a new high water mark for Olympics openers with an immersive celebration of Paris landmarks and star-studded performances. The spectacle directed by Thomas Jolly romped through French history and culture with a delicate mix of sincere hommage and cheeky deconstruction.
Amid the awe-inspiring scale of the event — which was streamed live on television by 22 million people in France alone — “Who is she wearing?” may not have been top of mind as Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura, Juliette Armanet, Celine Dion and opera singer Axelle Saint-Cirel each sang at a roster of Paris landmarks.
The answer, however, was Christian Dior haute couture, who provided the costumes for the five of the night’s main performances as part of a major sponsorship deal between owner LVMH and the Paris Olympics.
Dior Costumier
Designer Maria Grazia Chiuri and her teams created a spectacular feather show-girl gown with removable skirt for Gaga’s joyous rendition of a French cabaret classic, “Mon Truc en Plumes” by Zizi Jeanmaire.
Nakamura sang a medley of her own hits and Charles Aznavour’s “For Me Formidable” in a body-sculpting, one-shouldered Dior mini-dress made of gold feathers, while mezzo-soprano Saint-Cirel was dressed up as the French flag in a campy twist on Marianne: she wore a white and red gown, while brandishing a gigantic blue flag.
Armanet sang on a whirling boat, backdropped by a flaming piano, in a look Dior collaborated on with the artist Clara Daguin, whose light-up embroideries flashed to the beat of the song.
The emotional peak of the night came when Céline Dion — who hadn’t performed for four years while battling a neurological condition — returned to the stage singing Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à L’Amour” in a glimmering Dior gown embroidered with thousands of pearls and over 500 metres of fringe.
Dior said the looks would be displayed at its Avenue Montaigne Museum from next week.
Louis Vuitton
Dior wasn’t the only LVMH brand to seize the Olympics spotlight Friday.
Louis Vuitton, the world’s biggest luxury brand, more or less got its own number early in the show, as dancers whirled around on the Pont Neuf and banks of the Seine pushing its signature monogrammed steamer trunks on trolleys. The number culminated in a poetic dance by Guillaume Diop, Paris Opera Ballet’s first-ever black danseur étoile, who wore Louis Vuitton by Pharell Williams.
In a pre-recorded segment, a masked torch bearer parkoured over the Paris roofs and into the brand’s headquarters, where its signature trunks — which are being used to house medals and the Olympic torch — were being confected.
National Teams
The walk-out of each national team in their Opening Ceremony ensemble is usually the fashion highlight of the night. This year, that wasn’t always the case as the delegations’ arrival by boat on the Seine was at times blurred by rain, or hard to focus on amid the landmark-studded backdrop and simultaneous performances.
Luckily for brands, social media has created opportunities to extend the impact of Olympics partnerships, as athletes and designers post about the process for design, fittings and more. Team France’s partnership with Berluti (once again, LVMH) went viral earlier this week as the brand shared a video of smouldering male hurdler Sasha Zhoya at his fitting opting to wear a skirt for the ceremony. Team Mongolia’s badass embroidered deels were another viral success. Team USA looked preppy and gorgeous as ever in Ralph Lauren blazers, while the Italians found themselves looking weather-appropriate (if not very telegenic) in neoprene hoodies from Emporio Armani.
Young Creators On The ‘Catwalk’
Several young Paris labels contributed designs for the spectacle, whose costumes were coordinated by Daphné Bürki. In one number, dancers hoisted up on poles wore costumes by Charles de Vilmorin.
Toward’s the end of the ceremony, a Joan of Arc-like rider cantered down the Seine on a robotic horse to the Eiffel Tower, delivering the Olympic flag while wearing a suit of leathery metallic armour created by emerging Paris designer Jeanne Friot.
The biggest tribute to French fashion at the opening ceremony came in a boisterous number staged on the Passerelle Debilly bridge, where a mock runway show blended ür-serious catwalk strutting with passages celebrating various styles of dance: krumping, vogueing, waacking, ballet. Drag queens and dancers stormed the runway in looks from young Paris labels — Ouest Paris, Weinsanto, Maitrepierre and Germanier.
Paris Opera Ballet’s Germain Louvet pirouetted and leaped down the runway through puddles, flanked by figures from Paris’ queer culture including Drag Race host Nicky Doll and the DJ and activist Barbara Butch.
The sequence was masterful, inclusive, funny and fresh: modern Paris at its best.
