Pharrell Williams named as creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear

by Carolina Anzalone

What should we expect from Pharrell Williams as the new Menswear Creative Director of LV?

Hard question, considering Virgil Abloh’s fresh and culturally forward approach for Louis Vuitton, who died of cancer in November 2021 at the age of 41.

Virgil Abloh departed as a revolutionary, leaving a lasting gender-fluid and more cross-culturally inclusive imprint on Luis Vuitton.

"He reinvented the role of a creative director, injecting it with hip-hop's penchant for remixing, skateboarding's sense of community and a desire for social progress," Business of Fashion writes about Virgil Abloh.

We also need to keep in mind that this position has been vacant since Abloh’s death and we should have aspected a new addition to the LVMH family.

The news certainly provoked quite a tempestuous response, met with criticism as well as enthusiasm, with many questioning the decision to appoint a wealthy and established artist and media personality over a younger designer with more formal training in fashion.

Pharrell Williams has a strong network with which he is able to collaborate with in the world of luxury brands, having already launched a successful sunglasses collection with Marc Jacobs, two more ventures with Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld, and more recently designing an iconic line with Tiffany and being involved with the Moncler Genius Talent event at this year’s London Fashion Week.

The Louis Vuitton Chairman and CEO, Pietro Beccari, expressed a big excitement and enthusiasm for this new entrance that we can’t wait to discover this future June 2023, for the Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.

Beccari declared "I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton […] his creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter."

The 13-time Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee has a history with Luis Vuitton, having created the Millionaire collection alongside Japanese designer Nigo developing a pair of unique aviator-style sunglasses featuring a monogrammed gold trim. This style was so popular that it was re-released in 2007 with new colourways and was resurfaced by Abloh for his first LV collection in 2018.

"Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universes expand from music to art, and to fashion — establishing himself as a cultural global icon over the past twenty years," Louis Vuitton said, adding that he reinforces the company's values of "innovation, pioneer spirit and entrepreneurship.”

In conclusion, the most important thing to Pharrell Williams is to feel comfortable in the garments you are wearing at the time. So ignoring his background and embracing his chameleonic vision, we should welcome Pharrell’s motto of “if it fits and looks right on you, that’s it!”.

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