Pharrell Williams taking over as creative director for Louis Vuitton menswear is one of the most talked-about and highly anticipated debuts in recent history. After former creative director Virgil Abloh passed away in 2021, the role was open until Louis Vuitton announced Abloh’s longtime friend and supporter, the ‘visionary’ Williams, on Valentine’s Day this year.
Pharrell has been reluctant to share any glimpses into the upcoming collection, which will be unveiled via a private runway show on the opening day of Paris Men’s Fashion Week, June 20th. The show will mark five years since Virgil Abloh, the last person to hold the role, presented his debut Louis Vuitton collection at the Palais Royal.
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Our first sneak peek— if you can describe a ginormous billboard as such— is a blown-up photograph of Rihanna plastered on the side of the Musée d’Orsay this Thursday, overlooking the Seine. In the image, a very pregnant Rihanna sports her signature unbuttoned shirt, accentuating her bump, and carries a takeaway coffee and four primary-coloured Louis Vuitton monogram bags. Her leather shirt features a pixelated pattern reminiscent of Louis Vuitton’s classic Damier print, and she pairs it with smart black trousers and two diamond necklaces. In a photo shared on Instagram, Pharrell poses in front of the billboard wearing a similar all-black outfit to match his muse.
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Pharrell and Rihanna go way back, collaborating on the song Lemon in 2017, and are rumoured to be working together again for her next album. Rihanna also has connections to LVMH, the French luxury conglomerate behind Louis Vuitton and Fenty’s beauty, skin, and (formerly) fashion lines.
We are sure that the opening show will be a star-studded event, with Pharrell utilising his connections from the fashion and music industries. A true jack of all trades, Pharrell has won 13 Grammy awards, been nominated twice for an Academy award, and won the CFDA’s Fashion Icon Award in 2015. His predecessor, Virgil, was also a polymath— a qualified engineer, architect, DJ, and creator of the designer label Off White.
Louis Vuitton welcomed Pharrell ‘home’, with his journey alongside the company beginning in 2004 when he designed the iconic ‘Millionaire’ sunglasses and another collab in 2008. He was also Chanel’s first male fashion ambassador and designed a collection with them, as well as creating a fragrance line with Comme des Garçons, a handbag line with Moynat, and sunglasses with Tiffany. He created the streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club and its sister brand Ice Cream Footwear, and co-founded Bionic Yarn in 2010, a fibre made from recycled plastic bottles found in the sea. His most notable fashion collab is a long-term partnership between his HUMANRACE brand and Adidas, reimagining 2023’s It-Shoe—the Samba— in bright block colours.
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We can expect to see a lot of streetwear and pop culture influences in his collection, with Hemant Kalbag of Alvarez & Marsal Consumer Retail Group telling Forbes that “Pharrell will help keep LV relevant to the next generation of LV customers”. He will be able to tap into the multifaceted aspect of Louis Vuitton, blending the past, present, and future and potentially collaborating with some of our favourite streetwear brands.
Written By Lucy Walshe
Header Image: @pharrell Instagram
