Louis Vuitton Reunites Tennis Legends Roger Federer And Rafael Nadal For Its Latest Campaign
The two rivals, off the court and atop a mountain.
By Tara Amelia Sharil - published
Former long-term rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have swapped their tennis rackets for Louis Vuitton backpacks—Federer with the Monogram Christopher backpack and Nadal with the Monogram Eclipse version—in the brand’s newly restored Core Values campaign.
Lensed by Annie Leibovitz, Federer and Nadal are depicted not in their long-standing rivalry, but as companions on a shared ascent up the peaks of Italy’s Dolomites mountains, embodying the campaign’s tagline, “There are journeys that turn into legends.”
Related article: Louis Vuitton’s Bespoke Trunks For The Australian Open Are A Piece Of Fashion History
And, what legends they are. Both sports stars have been in the news lately, with the reveal of the release date for Federer’s upcoming Amazon Prime documentary, Federer: 12 Final Days, which charts the last 12 days of his professional tennis career. Nadal, meanwhile, is widely expected to retire after the 2024 season. In this campaign, however, the duo have been captured for posterity, posing against the picturesque mountainous backdrop, which serves as a visual metaphor for their decades-long careers, filled with mutual respect.
Related article: At Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Ghesquière Looks Back
“It’s a unique opportunity to be working on this campaign with Rafa. How we could be such rivals and then at the end of our careers be beside each other doing this campaign has been very cool,” said Federer in a statement from the brand. “I know how many important icons have been part of this campaign, so for me personally, being part of it is something I am very proud of, especially sharing it with Roger—he has been my biggest rival and now a close friend today. In my career, I achieved more than I ever dreamt of, so at the end of the day, the legacy in terms of human beings is the most important value,” said Nadal.
Launched in 2007, Louis Vuitton’s Core Values campaigns recount the Maison’s heritage through the lens of self-discovery and personal journeys via different interpretations of travel. Since its debut, the campaign has become known for featuring icons from a diverse range of fields and industries, with other pairs including fellow tennis stars André Agassi and Steffi Graf, footballers Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, themselves longstanding rivals on the field; as well as Hollywood father-daughter duo Francis Ford and Sofia Coppola.