While there are a lot of houses in the luxury goods firmament that possess walking around money, few have the kind of financial and — more importantly — cultural capital necessary to pique Roger Federer‘s interest. That is unless you happen to be Louis Vuitton.
Now, the emblematic luxury house (and arguably more famous half of the LVMH moniker) has snagged not just Federer, but also Rafael Nadal — the retired tennis legend’s close friend, career-long adversary, and fellow Big Three player.
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Together, the duo are the face of Core Values: a new Louis Vuitton campaign, centred on “determination” and a “pioneering spirit,” shot by the beloved American portraitist Annie Leibovitz. Serious star power, to say the least.
Flanked by the windswept peaks of the Dolomites mountain range, Federer and Nadal can be seen throughout the campaign’s imagery wearing two versions of the similarly legendary ‘Christopher’ backpack.
Priced uniformly at $5,250, each is designed in “the rugged spirit of a hiking pack,” replete with historic details like a flag opening and multi-part stud/drawstring closure. Evidently, they’re also so good-looking that they can be worn to impressive visual effect at altitude during a tundra.
For tennis fans, Core Values will probably register as an appropriately luxe capstone to the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry — one of the great contests (and bromances) of professional tennis over the past 30 years.
In consummately gallant fashion, Federer has declared this new opportunity to work with Nadal to be “meaningful and special.”
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“It’s a unique opportunity to be working on this campaign with Rafa,” said the Swiss maestro.
“How we could be rivals and then at the end of our careers be beside each other doing this has been very cool. And where we are today, I think it also embodies everything: at the peak of the mountains.”
Find out more below.
