Pharrell Williams is appointed as Louis Vuitton’s new head of menswear.
Hip-hop singer Pharrell Williams has been named the new head of menswear at prestigious fashion label Louis Vuitton, the company said on Tuesday.
The renowned brand announced in a statement that it was “delighted to welcome Pharrell as its new Men’s Creative Director with immediate effect.”
Williams fills the void left by Virgil Abloh’s passing from cancer in November 2021.
The 49-year-old has been a regular in the front row of fashion shows for years and is a well-known superstar in the music industry with 13 Grammy awards and two Oscar nominations.
The design company, a division of the LVMH luxury conglomerate, described Pharrell Williams as “a visionary whose creative universe spans from music to art to fashion – establishing himself as a universal cultural icon over the past 20 years.”
In June, during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris, he will debut his first collection for Louis Vuitton.
After working with Pharrell for Louis Vuitton in 2004 and 2008, the fashion house’s CEO, Pietro Beccari, expressed his joy at seeing him return as the new creative director for men.
He declared that “his creative vision extends beyond fashion and will unquestionably take Louis Vuitton towards a new, very exciting chapter.”
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Louis Vuitton’s sales have increased dramatically, and the brand is now valued at over $20 billion, making Bernard Arnault, owner of LVMH, the richest man in the world.
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Youthful appeal
The French company had been content to continue riding the publicity Abloh’s three-year stay has produced, utilising his crew and visiting designers for recent exhibitions.
Abloh, who passed away at the age of 41, rose to fame among millennials for his skillfully fusing streetwear with luxury couture.
One of the most talked-about presentations of menswear week in Paris was presented by Louis Vuitton last month. Pop star Rosalia performed at the event, which was run by a group of highly anticipated young designers.
Williams, a member of the hip-hop duo The Neptunes who gained success in the 1990s, was not frequently cited in rumors about the position.
However, he is in line with the brand’s recent efforts to appeal to a younger, streetwear-focused clientele, and he and Abloh have similar tastes in skateboarding, art, and music.
He was also a fan of Abloh’s, writing after the designer’s passing, “Virgil you were a kind, compassionate, considerate creative genius your work as a human and your work as a spiritual being will live eternally.”
He has previously collaborated for specific lines with other clothing companies such as Diesel, Chanel, Moncler, and Adidas.
In 2008, when Marc Jacobs was the brand’s creative director, he partnered with Louis Vuitton to launch a jewelry and eyewear line.
Williams co-founded the Japanese apparel business Billionaire Boys Club and was designated co-owner of the denim company G-Star Raw in 2016.
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