By: Julianna Tramposch
Luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton has welcomed the iconic multi-hyphenate Pharrell Williams into their circle as the new creative director of menswear fashion. To many, Pharrell is regarded as a music and fashion king. He has some big shoes to fill in as the successor to Virgil Abloh, who passed away in 2021. Before this position, Pharrell was a familiar face to Louis Vuitton. He collaborated with menswear in 2004 and 2008, as well as with womenswear accessories alongside Marc Jacobs. His first collection as creative director will debut next June at men’s fashion week in Paris.
Even though Pharrell entered the celebrity world through hip-hop and music production, he is just as successful in the fashion world. He is the co-founder of the streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club, and Ice Cream with DJ Nigo. He has worked with Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel and walked on the Métiers d’art runway. As well as Moncler, Diesel, and of course Adidas. Many people believe Pharrell has played a huge role in merging the sneaker world with the fashion world.
Louis Vuitton believes Pharrell is the perfect person for the job because his status as a cultural icon matches their brand’s emphasis on culture and love for boldly - but tastefully - merging fashion with art and music. His hire is also very significant as it was the first big decision of the new CEO Pietro Beccari. Vuitton says, “he [Pharrell] breaks boundaries across the various worlds he explores aligns with Louis Vuitton's status as a Cultural Maison, reinforcing its values of innovation, pioneer spirit, and entrepreneurship." They are happy to call Pharrell one of their own and excited to see his contributions to the luxury brand.