Pharrell might be the men's creative director at Louis Vuitton, but he says the "Louis Vuitton Don" tag will always belong to Kanye West.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is my brother, Pharrell," Swizz Beatz, who was joined by Pharrell, said in a video following his debut show with the fashion house. "The Don. The Louis Vuitton don." After Swizz made the comment, Pharrell interrupted him. "Nah nah nah nah," he said. "Pupil king, I'm a student. Louis Vuitton Don is the one, great Kanye West. Period. That's the Louis Vuitton Don. I'm the pupil king, I'm forever the student."
Elsewhere in the video, Swizz asked Pharrell how he's feeling following his debut Louis Vuitton show. "I'm electrified with gratitude," he said. "My appointment in this position is a tribute to our brother Virgil. God is the greatest."
Throughout his career, Kanye made it no secret how he feels about Louis Vuitton. In 2019, he suggested that he almost signed a deal with LV, but it fell apart. "I met with Bernard Arnault. We had a deal on the table that we shook on. I did some performances at the museum," Ye said at the time. "Then, three months later, the deal got dropped at the board. That set me back in apparel a bit when that happened."
After Virgil Abloh died, Ye admitted that he felt "jealousy" when his friend was appointed the creative director of LV.
Pharrell was named Louis Vuitton's men's creative director earlier this year, and the stars came out to see what he cooked up/ Among the many A-list celebrities spotted at Paris' Pont Neuf bridge to witness the unveiling of the Spring/Summer 2024 menswear collection was Tyler, the Creator, who has repeatedly reiterated just how important Pharrell was to him as a developing artist. "I love u so much," Tyler said in an Instagram Stories post after the show. "Bro I shed real tears. I couldnt even take photos."
Pharrell's debut Louis Vuitton show also featured a preview of new music, including an unreleased track with longtime collaborators Clipse. Other big names at the show included Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Rihanna and ASAP Rocky, Megan Thee Stallion, Lebron James, and Kim Kardashian.
