Vogue to host rare joint fashion show for Paris Olympics

Fashion magazine Vogue announced Monday it is bringing together some of France’s top luxury brands for a one-off show to kick off the Olympics in Paris. 

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour told AFP the outdoor show will be “a mixture of fashion show, entertainment and performances… and a few surprises.” It will take place on June 23 — International Olympic Day — just over a month before the city hosts the Games.

Among those taking part are France’s Jacquemus and Balmain, as well as Louis Vuitton, whose current creative director is hip-hop star Pharrell Williams. 

“It’s rare that we are together like this,” said Olivier Rousteing, creative director of Balmain, at the press conference to announce the event. 

“Taking over the Place Vendome I have to say is pretty legendary,” said Williams, adding that the show would spotlight “true French style — what we see on the podium, what we see in the boulevards — in an inclusive spirit.”

It is being designed as a tribute to 100 years of French fashion, since it is a century since the city last hosted the Games in 1924. Each decade of French fashion will be paired with Olympic disciplines ranging from athletics and cycling to breakdancing and taekwondo. 

Wintour described it as the third Vogue “world event”, following similar large-scale parties in New York and London that the fabled magazine has organised in a bid to maintain its aura at a time of dwindling print sales.

The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics will take place on July 26 on the River Seine.