Since Virgil Abloh’s passing in November 2021, Louis Vuitton’s menswear division has been leaderless: initially depending on the late designer's legacy before temporarily collaborating with KidSuper founder Colm Dillane for its AW23 collection. But the Parisian fashion house has finally elected a true successor: musician, entrepreneur and style icon, Pharrell Williams.
Louis Vuitton broke the news via Instagram, mere hours after rumours began to circulate of his appointment. Beneath a grayscale photo of the multihyphenate shrouded in an LV-branded scarf, a caption confirmed the 49-year-old hitmaker's new position at the high-end stalwart, and revealed his first collection would show at Paris Fashion Week Men’s next June.
Despite his prominence in the music scene, Pharrell is no stranger to the world of fashion, having founded Billionaire Boys Club, ICECREAM (with A Bathing Ape and Kenzo designer Nigo) and Humanrace, and befriended industry tycoons including Anna Wintour and his predecessor, the late Virgil Abloh.
He has also partnered with a slew of heavyweight brands across the years, from Adidas to Tiffany & Co. to Chanel (the latter of which he even walked for as part of its Egyptian-themed Pre-Fall ‘19 show). Not to mention, Louis Vuitton itself, in 2004 on a sunglasses range entitled ‘Millionaire’, and in 2008 on a jewellery line christened ‘Blason’.
Those familiar with Pharrell’s artistic style will be banking on his LV era to be twice as colourful, whimsical and animated as Virgil’s tenure. Plus, more collaborations than ever before. Adidas x Louis Vuitton, for example, feels inevitable; new instalments of Nigo (or Kenzo) x Louis Vuitton, likewise.
There’s also an expectation that Pharrell will introduce greener practices at the luxury giant since he’s become something of a wellness guru in the last decade – having partnered with the likes of G-STAR RAW and South African retailer Woolworths on sustainability initiatives, and launched a skincare line that pivots on sustainable, vegan products.
That's a lot to hope for. But something tells us we're about to get lucky.
