Pharrell Williams Is Designing Louis Vuitton Men’s For Himself, And That’s A Good Thing
For his first Louis Vuitton Men’s collection, Pharrell Williams presented a solid collection of clothes that referenced his wardrobe over the years, and he put on a show that emphasized LVMH’s reliance on Black culture.
On a Tuesday afternoon, a few hours before his debut show as Louis Vuitton Men’s creative director, Pharrell Williams invited journalists into a small conference room at LV’s headquarters in Paris to preview a few pieces from his upcoming collection. He’s in a zen-like but spirited mood, wearing a double-breasted blazer, flared pants with a pixelated digi camo print, a Human Made hat, and his signature gold grills.
“Every day I pinch myself like, man, is this real?” says Williams when asked how he feels in this exact moment. “It’s a crazy mixture of shock and awe at the amount of resources [I have] and working with so many masterful artisans every day. Like whoa. It’s a different feeling.”
Oftentimes when designers detail their inspirations, they wax poetic about a piece of art, a film, a location, or a historic figure that’s the starting point for their collection. Virgil Abloh, for example, offered up copious show notes that almost felt like a thesis. But with Pharrell, his approach is less about philosophical musings or extensive research and more about the customer, who he also happens to be. He told The New York Times he sees himself as less of a creative director and more of a client.
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