Luxury Fashion Brands drafting in Athlete Ambassadors

Louis Vuitton X Jude Bellingham

He’s young, he’s good-looking, he’s cool and he’s recently been unveiled as a “Friend of the House”, Louis Vuitton’s highest accolade. Yet, the chap in question isn’t an actor or an aristo-model. Jude Bellingham is a footballer from a modest background in the West Midlands.

The 21-year-old is also phenomenally successful, it must be said, having played for Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund, before joining European giants Real Madrid last summer. “It is such a pleasure to join the Louis Vuitton family. Since I was young, I’ve always been attracted to the house,” he announced after the news in the summer.

Bellingham had already been seen on the front row of the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer menswear show this year, as well as being papped carrying a signature piece of the label, its iconic Keepall Bandoulière 45 duffle bag.

The midfielder looks as much at home in fashion shots as he does on the pitch – relaxed in a dark, high-collar zip-through cardigan or wearing a structured doublebreasted suit and adopting his celebrated, open-armed goal-scoring stance. Louis Vuitton’s other sports brand ambassadors include Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish tennis player who is ranked second in the world.

Athletes as brand ambassadors

A growing number of sports stars are being recruited by luxury houses as brand ambassadors. Dior ambassadors include boxer Estelle Mossely, the skateboarder Louise-Aina Taboulet, and judoka star Clarisse Agbegnenou. The celebrated French fashion house is also leading a move within fashion and luxury to embrace a more diverse range of public faces, with its recruitment of Italian Paralympic fencers Andreea Mogoș, Bebe Vio and Loredana Trigilia.

Another celebrated jewellery brand, Tiffany & Co, recently announced Emma Raducanu as its latest brand ambassador, alongside Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z. The tennis star was photographed wearing tens of thousands of pounds of jewellery including diamond teardrop earrings from the Tiffany Victoria collection.

Why luxury brands choose athletes

“Sports stars and luxury brands go hand in hand,” argues Victoria Lee, digital marketer and founder and CEO at 100 Pound Social, which provides insights into collaborations between luxury brands and sports stars. “We look at sports stars as more than just athletes that are at the top of their game. The public’s fascination with figures like Tom Brady, Roger Federer and Cristiano Ronaldo extends outside their respective sports.”

She adds: “After setting up his YouTube channel, Cristiano Ronaldo became the fastest channel to reach one million subscribers and then the fastest channel to reach 20 million subscribers. We’re fascinated by these elite athletes’ lives of luxury – and it makes perfect sense for luxury brands to flock to them for partnerships.”

As well as this diversity of looks and experiences, sports stars’ healthy, athletic image and aesthetic add to their appeal. The recent success of the Paris and Tokyo Olympics and, in particular, the rising profile of Paralympians has renewed sport’s healthy lustre and its associations with young people working hard and reaping the rewards.

“Actors are somewhat distant figures, and we may only see them a few times each year,” says Simon Chadwick, professor of Sports Enterprise at Salford University and co-director of its Centre for Sports Business. “Whereas sports stars are more immediate, indeed we can even go to see them perform live every week – they are often within touching distance of thousands of people. They come to us from similar families, with familiar stories, and represent a vision of life that is within reach. Everyone has a story about a kid from their school who made it in sport.”

Footballers such as Jude Bellingham have a particular value and resonance, according to Professor Chadwick, because, as well as being heroes and icons, they are aspirational figures. “Their backgrounds and who they are as individuals resonate with people around the world and cuts across communities in general. Over the last 30 years, we have seen the emergence of middle-class fandom, it’s now acceptable to be a professional, with a good income, and also a football fan. So, Bellingham at Louis Vuitton is not just about aspiration, it’s also about hard cash and selling to key target markets.”

Chanel's Haute Joaillerie Sport Collection

This growing connection between luxury houses and sport is being manifested in other ways. The medals at the Paris Olympics were created by jeweller Chaumet, whose parent company LVMH is thought to have sponsored the games to the tune of €150m. Chanel’s recently launched Haute Joaillerie Sport Collection celebrates the awareness of the body and the idea of unrestricted physicality that lies, the brand says, at the heart of Gabrielle Chanel’s creations.

“I was inspired by Chanel’s sporty style, which is such an integral part of the house’s history: the elegance of the line and the freedom of movement,” says Patrice Leguéreau, director of the CHANEL Jewellery Creation Studio. As an aesthetic for high jewellery, the Sport collection is strikingly innovative – the idea is to replicate in the same manner as sportswear, “the anatomical reality of the body”. The chevron motif is intended to celebrate the themes of energy, pace and speed, while the collection’s contours and lines are clean and unfussy, almost aerodynamic.

Zenith X Aaron Rodgers

Given the importance of time for so many sports (there are no accolades for coming last), it’s hardly surprising that luxury watch brands are also recruiting sportspeople as ambassadors. For example, Aaron Rodgers, an American professional football quarter- back for the New York Jets, has designed a watch for watchmakers Zenith, part of LVMH.

The Chronomaster Sport Aaron Rodgers, a limited edition of 250 pieces, can measure and display 1/10th of a second. As well as this precision, the brand emphasises the timepiece’s performance, agility and elegance – all qualities, it could be said, of a great American footballer.

Sports connections enable brands to demonstrate their technical and craftsmanship capabilities. In another example of co-creation, Hugo Boss is now working with tennis players Noma Noha Akugue and Ella Seidel.

Authenticity in Athlete Brand Collaborations

As consumers become increasingly sceptical about celebrity endorsements, brands need to ensure that the sports stars they recruit have a strong connection and resonance with them. The partnership needs to feel logical, natural and believable. It’s worth noting that although Louis Vuitton’s choice of Jude Bellingham might challenge perceptions of the brand, it’s been able to create a narrative of the young footballer’s longstanding enthusiasm for Louis Vuitton and his admiration for its new menswear designer, Pharrell Williams.

To take another example, Calvin Klein’s partnership with female football players Alex Morgan and Chloe Kelly continues the brand’s well-established aesthetic of lithe sensuality, while cleverly leveraging the growing interest in the women’s game. Meanwhile, Burberry’s association with Marcus Rashford firmly focusses on the Manchester United forward’s philanthropic work with children alongside the obvious fashion connection.

The Risks of Athlete Endorsements

Any kind of celebrity endorsement carries risks – what if the celebrity in question says something offensive or misbehaves? Social media can amplify the work of a brand ambassador, but a thoughtless Tweet or an inappropriate video can cause huge damage to the all-important brand image of a luxury house in a matter of hours. The added risk with a sports personality, unlike an actor or model, is that a disappointing performance on the pitch, track or court can also have the potential to damage the sponsor’s branding.

“To safeguard against such issues, endorsement contracts typically include performance clauses as well as behavioural clauses,” explains Professor Chadwick. “The latter guards against athlete transgressions such as drug abuse, domestic violence, or offensive views.”

As luxury houses look to recruit younger consumers, connect with potential audiences in emerging markets and associate their brands with all that is best about sport, these risks are easily outweighed by the considerable rewards.