The American musician and designer Pharrell Williams opens a new era in the world of fashion on Tuesday with his first collection for Louis Vuitton, an event for which the French luxury firm has not spared the media.
A part of the quays of the Seine river in Paris, from the centenary Pont Neuf to the Place de Concorde, were cordoned off for half a day to prepare for the Williams show, the first pop musician to assume the responsibility of running a fashion house.
The parade, for which numerous stars are expected to attend, will take place at night, on the first day of Men’s Fashion Week.
Williams (50 years old) is the author of great hits such as the song “Happy” and a confessed fashion addict since he started in the world of rap and hip hop in 1992.
Louis Vuitton named him artistic director of the menswear collections on February 14, succeeding Virgil Abloh, an American creator who gave the brand a decisive push to embrace street culture, and who passed away in November 2021.
Abloh was the first black creative to assume that position of responsibility, in one of the great emblems of French fashion.
Now Louis Vuitton, which is part of the powerful LVMH group, is once again breaking the mold by hiring a mulatto rapper and music producer, with no specific training in the world of fashion, although Williams has already made forays into that sector in the past.
In an interview with AFP before the event, Williams presented himself as one more link in the rise of black popular culture in the United States around the world.
“I wish our culture and our people hadn’t had to suffer so much to get to where we are.”, declared Williams, a few hours after presenting the collection.
“It does not escape me that many people died, that many people suffered”, he added.
Halfway between the militancy of streetwear and the fascination for leather goods and gold, Pharrell Williams’s mission is to continue attracting young audiences to the luxury sector.
All means at your disposal
Louis Vuitton has the means to fulfill Williams’ dreams: in the first quarter of the year its sales exceeded 21 billion euros (about US$23 billion).
The bar is high, after the previous Louis Vuitton show in Paris, in January, was starred by the Spanish Rosalía, who left a spectacular show in the memory.
Men’s fashion barely represents 5% of the firm’s turnover, but the giant LVMH wants to continue expanding in that market.
“A commercial success can be foreseen, it is one of the most anticipated collections of Fashion Week and a truly very special moment in fashion history.”, declared Alexandre Samson, head of the haute couture and contemporary creation departments at the Paris Fashion Museum.
Williams already designed sunglasses for Vuitton in 2005. And last year, at an event held at Karl Lagerfeld’s photo studio, the musician declared his excitement at working with the legendary Chanel couturier, who died in 2019.
“Karl took the ideas of others and multiplied them”, he said on that occasion.
Pharrell Williams “has an extremely popular way of looking at art and style”, explains Alexandre Samson.
And he also has a long list of contacts, beginning with the singer Rihanna, who stars in the first official photo of this Pharrell Williams collaboration with Louis Vuitton.
The Caribbean star appears showing her pregnant belly, surrounded by Louis Vuitton bags of different colors, in gigantic posters that are already flooding Paris.
Source: Gestion
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
