The References to Know From Pharrell's First Louis Vuitton Show

On Tuesday, Pharrell Williams presented his very first collection as Louis Vuitton’s creative director of menswear. The Spring/Summer 2024 show was presented on the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris on a runway that resembled the look of LV’s famed Damier print. “This moment is dedicated to the giant before me. To our brother in spirit,” wrote Williams in the show notes, acknowledging that he’s filling the shoes of the late Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton’s former creative director of menswear. Pharrell’s first collection for the French luxury house featured over 70 looks, included new music from himself and Clipse, and was one of the most anticipated shows of Paris Fashion Week. 

While some were skeptical of Pharrell’s appointment when it was announced earlier this year, it’s clear that he’s blended his own personal history with the heritage of one of the most storied luxury fashion houses. The knot between Virginia Beach and Paris was tied through looks that were filled with references to Pharrell’s own style, which has influenced hip-hop fashion for decades. Everyone likely has their own thoughts and critiques on Skateboard P’s first collection. So to fully understand his approach as Louis Vuitton’s new creative director of menswear, it’s paramount to understand the references within his debut. 

Here are the references to know in Pharrell’s first Louis Vuitton show.

Pharrell’s love for his home state of Virginia is very apparent throughout his first Louis Vuitton collection. Many pieces are graphically branded with “VA Is for LVers'' and “Virginia Is for LVers” slogans that his show notes describe as “a state of mind founded in warmth, wellbeing, and welcome-ness.” But one look from Pharrell’s debut collection truly took it back to his upbringing in Virginia.

Many Skateboard P fans likely recognized a red varsity jacket that boasted stitched embroidery spelling out Louis Vuitton and interlocking “P” and “A” letters decorated with rhinestones. The piece is a luxurious flip of Pharrell’s actual Princess Anne High School varsity jacket. N.E.R.D fans know this is the same jacket seen in their “Maybe” music video and worn by Pharrell during their concerts in the early 2000s. Pharrell graduated from the high school located in his hometown of Virginia Beach in 1991. The other half of the Neptunes, Chad Hugo, also attended Princess Anne. The Neptunes actually got their break after record producer Teddy Riley discovered the Neptunes performing at their high school talent show—Riley’s studio was located nearby.

Despite becoming a globally recognized music producer and fashion icon, Pharrell has always kept his high school alma mater close to his heart. He still stays in touch with the director of his high school marching band and even visited the school to speak to students. "Life is like a mosaic. It's a bunch of pieces. I'm just one piece. But the rest of the pieces are my teachers that kept pushing me," he said. It’s not surprising to see Pharrell reminisce on high school for his first collection, as a major theme Pharrell is exploring is always being a student of the game. “I will forever be a student. I will always be a pupil. Pupil king,” Pharrell told Complex in an interview before his first Louis Vuitton show earlier this year.

Hip-hop’s everlasting influence on fashion was aptly celebrated within the first Louis Vuitton collection designed by one of the genre’s most respected artists. Clipse walked the runway and unveiled a new song (“Chains & Whips”) during the presentation. The British rappers Dave and Rejjie Snow also walked in the show. And those lucky enough to attend in person were treated to a live performance by Jay-Z—Pharrell even came onstage to perform their classic hit song “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me).” While hip-hop has always been infatuated with Louis Vuitton, Virgil Abloh and Kanye West paved the road for an artist like Pharrell to take over the house. Granted that the collection wasn’t jam-packed with references to hip-hop culture (and looked more toward Marc Jacobs and Kim Jones rather than Abloh), leather outerwear presented within the collection felt like a clear nod to jacket brands popularized by rappers.

The printed leather jackets worn by No Malice and Pusha T of Clipse boasted the bold rhinestone embellished lettering of Pelle Pelle. No Malice’s varsity style in particular took cues from Avirex’s popular “Icon” jacket. Another leather jacket that felt like a clear reference to these brands was Dave’s crocodile leather baseball jacket, which boasted a navy and white New York Yankees–esque colorway that felt like a subtle nod to one of the major cities that popularized such styles. It’s also worth noting that long before Pharrell teased his first designs for Louis Vuitton, motorcycle jackets have always been a staple in his wardrobe. This was clearly true throughout the 2010s, back when Pharrell was particularly obsessed with Perfecto-style Lewis Leathers jackets produced in collaboration with Comme des Garçons. A similar jacket, produced in a yellow Damier print, appeared on the runway. But one wonders if we’ll ever see that Vanson-inspired LV motorcycle jacket that he rocked when performing at Something In The Water in April.

“Damoflage” is detailed in Pharrell’s show notes as a fusion between Louis Vuitton’s iconic checkered Damier pattern and traditional camouflage fabric. “Damoflage” appeared across the entire collection, and it’s truly a representation of Pharrell’s own personal style. Over the years, Pharrell has constantly been seen wearing either military-esque garments or camouflage styles. He wore a camouflage puffer by ERL on the cover of his "Down in Atlanta" single featuring Travis Scott. And P has even been sighted wearing a vintage Swedish army jacket in the past. Of course, the roots of his obsession with camouflage patterns is likely indebted to his friend Nigo and A Bathing Ape. But it’s hard to ignore how that laser cut camouflage coat looks like a luxurious ghillie suit. While the standout Instagram page “itsnothingknew” has shown everyone that there’s truly nothing new under the sun when it comes to these military-inspired looks, it’s an interesting reference point for Pharrell to explore within his first collection. Also, it’s worth noting that the pixelated camouflage looks are likely not inspired by Minecraft or Loewe’s recent collections. Louis Vuitton previously released pixelated Damier leather goods for a collection in 2018 when Kim Jones was heading menswear. Pharrell’s Billionaire Boys Club has also produced pixel- or digital-camouflage-inspired prints in the past. 

Pharrell’s show notes explicitly cite “Canal Street” in Lower Manhattan as the key reference point for the colorways of the Speedy bags featured throughout his first collection. For those who are unfamiliar with Canal Street, it’s what New Yorkers consider to be the mecca of fake designer goods. Anyone who’s interested in buying a fake leather handbag from any luxury brand could just visit the dealers hustling on Canal Street rather than sifting through Reddit “Fashion Reps” threads or Taobao. While the show notes say the “attitude and hustle mentality of Canal Street” is what inspired the look of LV’s iconic Speedy bags for P’s debut, the bag’s bold colors suggest otherwise. It’s particularly hard to dismiss that the look descriptions cheekily call these Speedys “dupes” and that the red colorway feels like a direct reference to every bad Supreme x Louis Vuitton bootleg that’s sitting on Canal today. Pharrell confirmed in a New York Times interview recently that Canal Street LV replicas did indeed inspire the colors of his Speedys. “I want to give you that same experience that you get when you go to Canal Street, a place that has appropriated the house for decades, right?” said Pharrell. “Let’s reverse it. Let’s get inspired by the fact that they’ll make some colorways that the house has never made. But then let’s actually make it the finest of leather.”

Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami, Jeff Koons, Reggieknow, and many other notable artists have been granted the opportunity to bring their artwork to Louis Vuitton. In Paris, Pharrell subtly unveiled a collaboration with Henry Taylor that appeared as embroidery on leather caps, raw denim apparel, a double-breasted jacket, Alma bags, and more. Each embroidered portrait depicted important people within the artist’s life. Taylor is a Black artist based in Los Angeles who’s been painting for four decades. His work, which has been exhibited in institutions like The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney, is known for capturing the Black experience through an unfiltered lens. His paintings are rooted in realism and have captured celebrities like Jay-Z, the homeless living on Skid Row, and traumatic news stories like the murder of Philando Castile. Taylor recently presented his first retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles last fall. While it’s unclear how Taylor’s art will be in future collections by Pharrell, the show’s intro was centered on a conversation about ambitions between the artist and comedian Jerrod Carmichael. When Carmicheal asks Taylor what one should do when they don’t want to admit how badly they want something, he simply advises the comedian to just go for it. “Actions speak louder than words,” advises Taylor. Perhaps this was a subtle way for P to silence critics of his appointments. It’s clear that Pharrell has been involved in fashion design for years. Now it’s his time to show the world exactly what he’s been building toward all these years.

The oldest bridge in Paris was where Pharrell’s first Louis Vuiitton show was held. The Pont Neuf bridge, which opened in 1607, appears as bold prints on garments throughout the entire collection. According to the show notes, the bridge “embodies a metaphorical connection between Paris and Virginia.” The show’s opening intro featuring Jerrod Carmichael and Henry Taylor was filmed on the banks of the Seine river, which flows directly under the bridge. Pieces featuring pixelated renderings of the Pont Neuff bridge were created by the digital creative ET artist. One standout accessory from the collection, a boat-shaped bag with LV’s Monogram canvas, also pays tribute to the Bateaux Mouches boats that depart from Pont Neuf.