Louis Vuitton and the NBA confirmed they have entered a multi-year partnership that will see LV’s creative director Virgil Abloh design co-branded capsule collections comprising apparel and accessories, as reported exclusively by WWD.
Louis Vuitton has also created the first-ever travel case for the league’s Larry O’Brien Trophy, given out to the winner of the NBA Playoffs every year.
“It is a unique first partnership for us and the first partnership of this kind for Louis Vuitton with a North American sports league,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told USA TODAY Sports. “They have a history over the last decade or so of doing this kind of trophy case for some of the other big global sports like the FIFA World Cup trophy, the Roland Garros and Davis Cup trophies, the Rugby World Cup, but this is the first time they are partnering with a North American sports league to do this.”
Six craftsmen and 100 hours were required to manufacture the travel case at Louis Vuitton’s workshop in Asnières-sur-Seine, France, just outside of Paris. As seen in the image above, the case features Louis Vuitton’s iconic monogram pattern and a white “V,” which stands for victory, with red and blue trim, taken from the NBA’s official logo. The interior of the case is lined with blue micro-fiber featuring the NBA logo.
The unveiling of the travel case comes just before the Milwaukee Bucks take on the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA’s first-ever regular season game in Paris on January 24, which is also the NBA’s first official appearance in Paris since 2010.
