With not a ball in sight, Louis Vuitton has proven the impossible – possible – as two football legends were captured playing a completely different game in a picture that has reached an iconic ranking.
Over the past weekend, Louis Vuitton unveiled a new campaign titled Victory is a State of Mind – featuring Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi facing off in a good-old, classic game of Chess. What does this have to do with LV? Well, they’re playing over a Louis Vuitton briefcase (a signature LV Damier attché case to be exact).
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A picture speaks louder than words
They say a picture speaks a thousand words but this picture screams one – iconic! The brand, the players, the briefcase… everything about the photograph tells a story of greatness.
Visionary photographer, Annie Leibovitz captured an extraordinary moment. These two greats have never played in the same football team ever and until now, never appeared in an ad campaign together either.
Their composed demeanours depicted in the image are strikingly different from what we often see on the football field. Still, quiet tension can be felt and seen in their concentration and anticipation over their next moves… not unlike real life.
Louis Vuitton exhibited creative brilliance with this campaign. From the muted wardrobe and moody lighting to the position of the chess pieces on the chessboard – which was not random, by the way. The placements are a recreation of a pivotal moment in a 2017 chess match between grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. Carlsen himself commented on the image, tweeting: “Second greatest rivalry of our time mimicking the greatest.”
He added: “The original is from my game with Nakamura in Norway Chess 2017.” This is a significant ‘mimicking’ because the two players are known to be rivals on the football field.
This is also not the first time Louis Vuitton paid homage to football culture. 2010 saw football icons Zidane, Maradona and Pele together for a game of foosball in a Parisian café which was also shot by Leibovitz.
The time is now
This campaign arrives just in time to coincide with the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar where both players will represent their countries Argentina (Messi) and Portugal (Ronaldo). This will be the fifth World Cup both players are participating in.
There was a time when luxury fashion houses refused to be associated with football until David Beckman stepped onto the scene. Since then, many fashion brands have formed iconic collaborations with football players.
The campaign is focused on the French luxury conglomerate’s longstanding reputation for its travel trunk craftsmanship.
Travel is a main character in Louis Vuitton’s world. They became the official trophy travel trunk supplier to the World Cup and this year marks the fourth special LV trunk to be crafted for whoever wins.
At the end of the World Cup on the 19 December, the winners of the World Cup will check in a beautiful piece of additional luggage as they travel home victoriously.
P.S, if you were wondering – G.O.A.T stands for Greatest Of All Time
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Featured Image: @annieleibovitz/Instagram
