Snowboards are becoming luxury items

In Beijing, the Winter Olympics began a few days ago, but the first competitions are already staging all the spectacle and excitement of sports on snow and ice. In particular, the snowboard competition has already stolen the eye, thanks to the intrinsic breathtaking beauty of the evolutions on the board and the customizations of the brands that have collaborated with the athletes, making the shots in mid-air even more photogenic. In particular two luxury brands, Louis Vuitton and Prada, have decided to accompany two athletes in their Olympic adventure, creating for the occasion snowboards embellished with the logos that they are not usually used to sliding on snow. 

This will be the last Olympics for Shaun White, the three-time gold medalist in the Halfpipe and unanimously considered the most famous snowboarder in the world, so much so that he has given his name to a video game, and he wanted to show up in Beijing in style. To celebrate his unrepeatable career he had special help, none other than the late great Virgil Abloh, a great fan of both skateboarding and snowboarding, and who created for White a set of custom-made suitcases signed by Louis Vuitton. A guitar case, a Keepall, a Horizon and a duffel bag covered in LV's monogram and customized with White's initials to carry everything he needs for the Olympic expedition. 

The collaboration was born out of the friendship and respectful relationship between the two, who sometimes went to the snow together, and was tragically cut short last November with Abloh's passing. A huge loss, as White himself defined it, but which inspired him to create his own brand, Whitespace, which debuted on January 13 with a series of 50 exclusive snowboards that obviously sold out in a few minutes. And with which tomorrow White will play his fifth Olympics, 16 years after Turin 2006. 

On the other hand, Julia Marino from the United States has already taken to the Olympic track, winning the silver medal in the Slopestyle discipline behind New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski Synnott and the photographers' lenses thanks to her Prada-sponsored snowboard. The relationship between the Milanese brand and the star athlete had been anticipated by the campaign of the Linea Rossa Fall 2021 collection dedicated to skiing, together with the Anglo-American freestyler Gus Kenworthy, and his photos in the sky while riding his snowboard crossed by the iconic red line went around the world. His board is now available exclusively in Prada stores at the price of 3600 dollars.

Prada has always been attentive to high-voltage sports, having accompanied Luna Rossa during its America's Cup regattas with a highly successful collection that was recently relaunched. And now, thanks to these Winter Olympics, it is also coming down to the ski slopes, so much so that today, February 8, it announced its collaboration with Ubisoft to enter Riders Republic, a video game dedicated to outdoor sports. It will be possible to customize one's avatar by choosing the outfit, accessories and sports equipment from the Prada Linea Rossa collection.