40 years after Apollo 11, luxury brands are all over the moon
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Forty years ago today, man first set foot on the moon. In the years since, the journey of the Apollo 11 astronauts -- Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins -- has become ingrained in our pop culture consciousness like few other events. (Fun fact of the week: MTV’s Moonman trophy was modeled after Aldrin planting a flag on the lunar surface.)
While space exploration has given us things like the Fisher Space Pen and Speedo’s LZR Racer aerodynamic swimsuit (Oh, and that freaky orange beverage Tang? Turns out it actually predates NASA - it was rolled out in 1957 -- though it certainly got a boost from its association with the space program), none of it ever seemed terribly upscale.
Which is why I found it interesting that luxury brands seem to be embracing the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing with such a newfound fervor. First I noticed the moon was looming large (literally and figuratively) at the Alfred Dunhill men’s Spring/Summer 2010 runway show (the collection included pens made with “meteorite and black diamonds”).
Then, thumbing through my monthly round of men’s magazines I ran across the ad Annie Leibovitz shot for Louis Vuitton featuring astronauts Aldrin, Sally Ride and Jim Lovell gazing up at the moon. A few pages later was an ad for the Omega Speedmaster watch -- touting the fact that it was the first -- and only -- watch to go to the moon. (Extra points for being able to work perhaps our most stylish president, JFK, into the mix.)
It’s interesting to note that Dunhill is a British brand, Louis Vuitton is French and Omega is owned by Switzerland’s Swatch Group. Where are the American brands leveraging the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing? Maybe I missed them. Or have they truly abandoned the moon?
-- Adam Tschorn
Story: Marking 40 years since man’s first walk on the moon | Photos
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