Chanel is deepening its partnership with The Boat Race as it’s set to enter its third year as the title and timekeeping sponsor for the historic event between Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
For the 2027 edition of The Boat Race, which will mark the centenary of the first ever women’s event, Chanel will create their first ever sporting trophies.
Launched at the Presidents’ Challenge in London at Somerset House, the trophies are a natural expansion of the already existing relationship between the two prestigious names.
Designed by Arnaud Chastaingt, who heads up Chanel’s watch studio, and made by British silversmith Thomas Lyte, the trophies feature a traditional silver cup on a rectangular aluminium frame. To differentiate between the two trophies, the women’s race trophy is the one with the white frame while the men have black. The colours are a direct reference to the J12 which has been available in both black ceramic and later white.
At the heart of the trophies is a narrative medallion, which is a crest-like seal in gold plated silver edged with black – and the design took two years of work to bring to life with around 320 hours of workshop hours going into its creation.
Frédéric Grangié, President of Chanel Watches and Fine Jewellery, said of the announcement: “Our ambition is to support and safeguard what makes this historic event so exceptional: its traditions, uncompromising standards and the remarkable collective endeavour it celebrates. The creation of these trophies embodies that commitment. Conceived with humility and respect for the heritage of The Chanel J12 Boat Race, they unite Chanel’s creative vision in tribute to the athletes whose precision, discipline and teamwork define every edition. We hope they will become enduring symbols of achievement for the crews who raise them, today and for generations to come.”
Chastaingt added “I was humbled and honoured to lead the creation of trophies for the winners of this momentous race. The ambition was to preserve the trophy’s symbolism as a beacon of victory, while reinterpreting and refining it for today. My guiding principle was to illustrate the relationship between Chanel and The Boat Race through its design, to have Chanel’s presence felt without overshadowing the significance of either the trophy or the race.”
Siobhan Cassidy, Chair of The Boat Race Company Limited, commented: “The Boat Race only takes place after the Presidents’ Challenge, a tradition dating back more than 200 years, where the Presidents of the previous year’s losing crews formally challenge their victorious opponents to defend their titles. It is this tradition that we are glad to uphold as we look forward to the next 100 years of the Women’s Boat Race. The Centenary is the perfect time to deepen our longstanding partnership with CHANEL, with the unveiling of the J12 Boat Race trophies. Our three organisations commit to precision and an unwavering standard of form and function that we are immensely proud to carry into the next 100 years.”
The Chanel J12 Boat Race 2027 is currently scheduled to take place on 11 April.
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