Musician, record producer, and designer Pharrell Williams will be the new men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton, previously held by the late Virgil Abloh. Louis Vuitton announced the news on Instagram, stating that Williams’s first collection will be shown at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris in June.
What should we expect?
Virgil Abloh’s incredible rise to the pinnacle of the fashion world was a significant statement for the men’s fashion industry – encapsulating the power of all media and the industry’s embrace for inclusivity. The choice of Pharrell has been due to some but a handful of questions will certainly be asked.
Where Abloh drew heaps of 90’s subculture and references during his tenure, Pharrell shows a rather similar proclivity for the uniqueness of the 00’s . Pharrell’s acquisition comes along with a notable influence on streetwear, derived from his work with N.E.R.D
Pharrell, in retrospect, is no stranger to the world of luxury as with his Louis Vuitton collaboration in the past.
Williams had also previously worked with Louis Vuitton on two separate occasions. The first was in 2005 when he designed and released the Millionaire sunglasses, and the latter being a capsule collection of bejeweled rings and necklaces back in 2008.
The Millionaire sunglasses was a collaborative effort between Williams and Nigo, designer and current creative director for Kenzo. Louis Vuitton did a re-release of the sunglasses in 2007, and they remain a hallmark staple to this day.
Meanwhile, the Blason jewelry collection back in 2008 was a collab between Pharrell and the current artistic director of Emilio Pucci, Camille Miceli, that saw rings and necklaces with a gold finish, comparable with the usual style lead by Williams.
Like the weather, it is difficult to predict what avenue Pharrell chooses to ride out on, but there’s more than enough light to prove that Pharrell is the right man for this job.
Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement that he is “glad to welcome Pharrell back home.”