French luxury conglomerate LVMH, which has spent about $163 million inserting itself into seemingly every nonsport aspect of the Olympics, held an opening ceremony of its own Thursday night.
Serena Williams, Jeremy Allen White, Charlize Theron, Mick Jagger, French actor Omar Sy and Snoop Dogg were among the many starry guests who attended LVMH's pre-party, grandly called the Prelude to the Olympics.
As is so often the case when fashion meets branding meets a glitzy event, Anna Wintour was one of the evening's co-hosts, sweeping serenely down the red carpet (actually more like a green running track) with Australian director Baz Luhrmann on her arm. She wore a long glittery gown that Nicolas Ghesquière, the women's creative designer for Louis Vuitton, "very kindly designed for me for tonight," she said. Luhrmann wore denim pants and a denim shirt.
Though a number of stars -- Zendaya, LeBron James, Zac Efron, Elizabeth Banks -- made it into the party at the Louis Vuitton Foundation without stopping, others gamely opined about fashion, sports and how the Olympics brings people together.
Wearing a beautifully tailored non-LVMH suit and a pair of sneakers, tennis star Novak Djokovic undercut his surly reputation with charming anecdotes in both French and English. (He said he had to take it easy -- he was scheduled to play his first match, against Matthew Ebden of Australia, on Saturday.)
Luhrmann said that the party represented the dissolving of boundaries among different kinds of celebrity. "We're living in a world where, whether you come from popular music, fashion, sports -- there's no silo," he said. "It's all one great piece of theater."
"Sports stars are the new superstars," Wintour said.
It's hard to overstate how deeply entwined the 2024 games are with LVMH, the massive company whose brands include Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon, Tiffany and Sephora. LVMH's jewelry workshop Chaumet designed the medals the athletes will receive. Louis Vuitton created the trunks the medals will be carried on, and the trays on which they will be presented.
The outfits worn by the French athletes in the opening ceremony, including sleeveless jackets for women, were designed by LVMH company Berluti, together with French fashion editor Carine Roitfeld. Sephora, the LVMH cosmetics company, is sponsoring the Olympic torch relay, which will end when the games begin Friday.
The party had a healthy contingent of actual athletes, including gymnast Aly Raisman, skier Lindsey Vonn and soccer star Ashlyn Harris, who arrived with her girlfriend, actress Sophia Bush. As for the nonathletes, some of them clearly knew more about sports than others.
Wintour said she was looking forward to watching "Novak" and "Carlos" (as in Djokovic and Alcaraz) play tennis. Actor Christopher Meloni said he was excited about the table tennis competition because he was an enthusiastic, if hardly Olympic-class, player.
"In my own little imaginary world, I'm fantastic," he said.
And actor Alan Cumming, wearing a burnt orange outfit and (not quite so burnt) orange sunglasses, said that he had never been much of a sports fan but was game to try it out.
Snoop Dogg described his feelings on the eve of the Olympics.
"It's all about bringing people together to celebrate one cause, which is love," he said.
He was resplendent in a pair of gold pants, paired with a textured gold lamé jacket. Given the branding that blanketed the occasion -- it was hard to keep track of all the LVs on people's bags and clothes -- was Snoop's outfit by any chance from one of LVMH's companies?
"Oh, no," he said. "I'm wearing Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg limited edition. It's one of a kind."