UPDATED 2/14, 1:15 p.m. ET: A rep for Louis Vuitton has confirmed in an email to Complex that Pharrell Williams has been named the label’s new Men’s Creative Director. Pharrell’s team has also confirmed the appointment.
“I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Men’s Creative Director,” Pietro Beccari, LV’s CEO, said in a statement. “His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.”
See original story below.
Pharrell is potentially set to be named the new head designer of menswear at Louis Vuitton, at least according to a report published on Tuesday.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited “people familiar with” the situation, the move would see Pharrell taking on the role once held by the late Virgil Abloh. Tuesday’s report was slim on additional details, adding namely that LV was presently in discussions with Pharrell about the possible appointment.
Complex has reached out to reps for Louis Vuitton and Pharrell for comment.
Abloh was named artistic director of LV’s menswear division in March 2018, with his first show in the role taking place in Paris the following June. At the time, Abloh said taking on the position—which saw the multifaceted creative force making history in the process—was “an honor.”
Abloh died in November 2021 at the age of 41 after a two-year battle with cardiac angiosarcoma. The loss was a shocking one, with Abloh’s death mourned not only across the fashion industry but by collaborators and admirers across all artistic mediums.
Pharrell, of course, has an extended fashion presence of his own. Last November, he spoke with Mike DeStefano for Complex about what then marked his latest collaborative endeavor, the Moncler Maya 70. Closing out the interview was a question about the current state of fashion and where it might go next. Pharrell offered a characteristically forward-thinking and optimistic assessment, both of fashion at large and his individual creative process. Revisit the full discussion here.
