Celebrating fashion and sport at the Olympic Museum
A new exhibition, open from 5 December to 27 April 2025 at the Olympic Museum, spotlights how the worlds of sport and fashion have greatly influenced each other. Co-produced by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD) of Paris and the Olympic Museum, “Fashion and Sport: From One Podium to Another“ weaves a visually dazzling narrative through nearly 300 sports-related historical and designer pieces.
To mark the grand opening of “Fashion and Sport”, the Olympic Museum hosted its first-ever fashion show, produced by Yannick Aellen, founder of the Zurich-based platform Mode Suisse, on 4 December.
To highlight home-grown fashion in the Olympic Capital of Lausanne, Switzerland, seven of the eight creators presenting their work on the catwalk that wound its way through the museum’s exhibitions were Swiss. Notable designers included the internationally-renowned Kevin Germanier, showcasing pieces for the first time in his home country since 2017.
Costumes from his label Germanier made an appearance on the world stage this summer during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, including the otherworldly “Golden Voyager”, which has since joined the Olympic Museum’s collections for posterity.
The sole French representation on the catwalk was Lacoste, which presented a vintage collection curated from their archives for the first time in the history of the brand.
Visually underscoring the link between sport and style were five athletes, walking among a diverse cast of models: Swiss Olympians Léa Sprünger, Maëline Triponez and Kim Métraux, as well as rower Nicolas Chambers and Paralympian Sofia Gonzalez.
“Fashion and Sport” – as well as the museum’s new 800m2 temporary exhibition space – were officially unveiled in a ribbon-cutting by Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee; Yasmin Meichtry, Associate Director of the Olympic Museum; Bénédicte Gady, Interim Director of MAD Paris; and the exhibition's curator, Sophie Lemahieu, also of MAD Paris.
“Blending sport and culture was central to the vision of Pierre de Coubertin,” said Thomas Bach at the exhibition’s inauguration. “Today, this vision comes to life in a spectacular way through the fusion of sport and fashion. What better place to blend sport and culture than Lausanne, the Olympic Capital.”
“Fashion and Sport” was first presented at MAD Paris from 20 September 2023 to 7 April 2024 as a highlight of the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad programme.
Conceived by Sophie Lemahieu, visionary curator of Fashion and Textile at MAD Paris, the exhibition focuses on the deep connections between fashion and sport – domains that, at first glance, may seem to belong to opposite worlds.
However, over the last century, these two worlds have become ever more intertwined: athletes now sport outfits worthy of the catwalks of Fashion Week, while technical fabrics and athleisure have become commonplace on the street.
“This exhibition is yet another example of fashion and sport working together,” said Lemahieu of the collaboration between MAD Paris and the Olympic Museum. “For both institutions, we were keen to treat the links between our disciplines as a social issue, giving visitors a better understanding of items they encounter every day.”
“Fashion and Sport” presents 113 mannequins sporting a rich collection of clothing, footwear and accessories loaned from 15 luxury fashion houses, 12 cultural institutions and a myriad of private collectors. Works of art, photographs, posters, sculptures and even French fashion dolls complete the illustration of the fascinating evolution of sportswear and its impact on style.
This exciting collaboration and its visually stunning results gave the Olympic Museum so many of its ‘firsts’ – the first time welcoming a large museum such as the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the first time we’ve produced an exhibition of this scale and the very first fashion show hosted within our walls. We are entering a new chapter in the museum’s history with ‘Sport and Fashion’, which is a true celebration of the shared creativity, innovation and passion that is plentiful in both fields.
“Fashion and Sport: From One Podium to Another” will be presented at the Olympic Museum until 27 April 2025. For more information, please visit olympics.com/museum.