After a banner year of visibility, including a prominent role in sponsoring this summer’s Paris Olympics, LVMH‘s latest appearance might come as a surprise: the reopening of Notre Dame.
Over the weekend, the luxury conglomerate’s CEO Bernard Arnault—the richest man in France and consistently among the wealthiest individuals in the world—made a grand showing alongside his family at the cathedral’s grand reopening after five years of restoration following a fire in 2019.
The Arnault clan was surrounded by French President Emmanuel Macron, first lady Brigitte Macron, members of the clergy, and other prominent figures, many of whom were clad in LVMH brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior, the Associated Press reported. The branding exercise extended to a performance by Pharrell Williams, who is also the men’s creative director at LV, as well as a rendition of “Amazing Grace by South African singer Pretty Yende, who wore a 110-carat diamond Dior gown.
The painstaking restoration of Notre Dame involved the labor of hundreds of specialized artisans who refashioned everything from the lead sheets used to form the nave’s peaked roof to vital portions of stone masonry, CBS reported. Collectively, these efforts cost $882 million, $210 million of which was donated by Arnault. That substantial financial sum is in addition 36 300-year-old oak trees the LMVH CEO donated; the wood was used to reconstruct Notre Dame’s spire, the original of which was dramatically swallowed by flames before collapsing entirely.
Some questioned whether or not LVMH’s display was a proper fit given the sacred location, according to the AP. “You can’t blame monsieur Arnault, a businessman, to do business. But people are now asking if it was an appropriate venue for a display like that,” fashion PR consultant Theo Fontaine told the publication. “It’s been a great PR year for LVMH—that’s for sure. The Olympics and now Notre Dame. The whole world has been watching.”
But Arnault and LVMH weren’t the only of France’s luxury powerhouses to make a notable appearance at the event. Arnault’s longtime rival, François-Henri Pinault, CEO of competing luxury group Kering, attended the reopening with his wife, Salma Hayek, who sported a custom Gucci coat. (Pinault’s conglomerate owns the luxury brand.) In addition to brand acquisitions and the pursuit of fashion dominance, the pair have also competed in the realm of philanthropy: Pinault’s family investment company, Groupe Artémis, pledged a sizable $113 million to support Notre Dame’s rebuilding efforts.
Seems like 2025 may lead to more competition still.
