French designer Mathieu Leanner was selected to craft the Olympic and Paralympic torches for the Paris 2024 Games, a choice announced by Paris 2024 that highlighted the designer’s poetic and symbolic approach as well as his ability to interpret the values and expectations surrounding the event.
The torch design was scheduled to be unveiled toward the end of 2023, marking a key milestone in the build up to the Games. Leanner expressed pride in the responsibility, noting that creating the torches would turn a set of core values into tangible, visible objects. He described the Olympic motto Faster, Higher, Stronger as a starting point and suggested his aim would be to extend it with notions of beauty, lightness, and spectacle, while keeping the spirit of unity and shared achievement at the forefront.
Throughout his career, Mathieu Leanner has built a reputation across art, furniture, and interior design, delivering pieces that blend conceptual depth with functional elegance. His diverse practice reflects a commitment to materiality, form, and the way objects inhabit space and memory. These elements inform his approach to the torches, where aesthetics meet meaning in a way that resonates with national pride and international audience appeal.
In related fashion industry news, Louis Vuitton recently announced that musician Pharrell Williams has been named the creative director of its menswear line, a move that signals the brand’s continued emphasis on cross-disciplinary collaboration and cultural influence across luxury fashion.