Olympic Gold Medalist Eileen Gu is a Dream for Luxury Brands
As a style icon and professional athlete, Eileen Gu sets herself as the outlet for brands wishing to reach global audiences in both the East and the West.
As the Beijing Winter Olympics have come to a close, a true star has stood out for followers of freestyle skiing and fashion alike. At only 18 years young, Eileen Gu is a two-time Olympic gold medalist for the Chinese team and an extremely bankable model.
Ever since her 2019 announcement that she would be competing for China (her mother’s home country), San Francisco-born Eileen Gu has become a name that piqued great interest to many luxury brands. However, it wasn’t until her gold medal performance of aerial flips that Gu was thrust into the global spotlight, so much so that China’s social media platform, Weibo, crashed under the weight of the frenzy she caused. Although she has garnered incredible support and adoration from her followers in China, her decision to compete for her mother’s home country has created some controversy in the United States as questions arose concerning her right to switch allegiance despite the training and investment the United States put into her.
Undeterred by the controversies, this young athlete has proved to be a marketer’s dream. With her multicultural background, her mastery of Mandarin, her talents on the slopes and runway model looks, Gu has brands falling for her left and right. She is the face of at least 20 brands in China, including e-commerce giant JD.com and is one of the most sponsored athletes at the Beijing Olympics, with brand partnerships of the likes of Beats by Dre and Cadillac.
Luxury Fashion Houses are also after Gu as she’s already strategically navigated her way through a few carefully selected campaigns with Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Estée Lauder, Victoria's Secret and more recently with IWC as the new face of the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41.
Eileen Gu has proven to be the perfect ambassador for American and Chinese brands and her mass appeal in both the East and the West has led her to be recognised as a once in a decade type of talent for brands. She is equally taking part in a broader trend for luxury brands to begin moving away from traditional celebrities towards individuals who are successful in other fields, such as sports for example.
Her international background and diverse portfolio bring a fresh perspective to the industry which adds to the fact that she reaches twice the demographics which each endorsement and deal she takes on. As such, luxury brands see Eileen Gu as the icon that bridges the best of both worlds.
