PARIS — The worlds of Olympic swimming and luxury fashion may appear to have little in common. One is measured in hundredths of a second, the other in craftsmanship, branding and exclusivity.
But according to French swimming star Léon Marchand and LVMH executive Antoine Arnault, excellence in both fields is built on the same foundation: relentless discipline, teamwork and constant innovation.
Speaking at the VivaTech conference in Paris, Marchand, who won five medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, including four golds, and Arnault, CEO of Christian Dior SE, reflected on what separates enduring success from fleeting achievement.
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For Arnault, the answer begins with innovation, though not the kind that chases every new trend.
Many of the brands that make up luxury conglomerate LVMH, he noted, were founded by entrepreneurs who reshaped their industries. Louis Vuitton revolutionized luggage design with the flat travel trunk. Dom Pérignon transformed winemaking. Similar stories can be found throughout the group’s portfolio of brands.
“Louis Vuitton was an innovator,” Arnault said at the tech conference, which sponsored The AI Innovator‘s trip. “He invented the flat trunk but also had countless innovations that made his brand at the time very relevant in the 19th century.”
That willingness to innovate, he argued, helped the ‘maisons’ survive while countless competitors disappeared.
At the same time, Arnault cautioned against embracing technology simply because it is fashionable. He pointed to the metaverse, once promoted as the future of business and consumer engagement.
“Before people talked about the metaverse. It was the only thing that mattered,” Arnault said. “What did it do? It completely failed.”
LVMH’s strategy, he said, is to adopt innovation after it proves its impact. “Our vocation is not to be the first one to embrace innovation. When it has proven it, we will embrace it.”
Artificial intelligence, however, appears to be clearing that threshold. Arnault said AI is already becoming an active part of business operations and decision-making.
Constant innovation is key
Marchand described a similar balancing act in elite athletics, where technology increasingly influences training but does not replace human judgment.
“In swimming, details matter,” he said. “Innovation matters a lot.”
Yet some of the most important tools remain surprisingly simple. His coach Bob Bowman, the longtime mentor of Michael Phelps who is one of the most decorated Olympian swimmers of all time, still relies heavily on traditional methods.
He is “old school,” Marchand said. He is technology consists of his “notebook and my pencil.”
But Marchand and his team are experimenting with sensors that monitor heart-rate data throughout training sessions, while wearable devices such as the Whoop fitness tracker have become common among athletes seeking performance gains.
Swimming is largely a human endeavor, “but innovation could push us (further) in the sport,” the athlete said.
Relentless discipline is a must
The conversation repeatedly returned to a less glamorous ingredient of success: discipline.
Asked why only a handful of athletes emerge from each generation despite a deep pool of talent, Marchand dismissed motivation as an unreliable guide.
“Discipline is the main thing,” he said. “Motivation … it’s emotional. You can have it one day, you won’t have it the next day.”
Training habits eventually become automatic, he said, making it easier to stay focused on long-term goals.
Arnault drew a similar lesson from business, recalling advice from his father, LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault.
When he was young, Arnault said, he imagined business leaders spent their days engaged in exciting decisions and high-level strategy. The reality proved far more routine.
“Ninety percent of my meetings are boring,” Arnault recalled his father saying. But there are “things I have to do to get the 10% fascinating ones.”
Both men also emphasized that success is rarely an individual achievement.
Marchand said his decision to attend Arizona State University in the U.S. changed his perspective on competition. He helped transform the program from a team that finished 12th at the NCAA championships into a national champion, an experience that taught him the power of pursuing goals larger than individual accomplishment.
“We were swimming for something that was bigger than yourself,” he said.
Arnault said luxury goods are similarly the product of collective effort. While a fashion collection may begin with a designer’s vision, thousands of people contribute before it reaches consumers.
“The fashion show is the race,” he said. “It only lasts eight to 12 minutes.”
Looking ahead, Marchand said his ambitions remain focused on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“I want to see how far I can go,” he said. “I want to see how fast I can go.”
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