Pharrell Williams joins Louis Vuitton (and maybe takes it to new heights)

By Maggy Donaldson

Pharrell Williams is the superstar behind scores of music’s earworms, whose agelessness, sharp taste, and forays into design have also made him a fixture on the fashion circuit for decades.

The pop culture renaissance man will now head menswear design for Louis Vuitton, stepping into the shoes of Virgil Abloh and becoming, after his predecessor, the second Black man to take on the role.

The luxury fashion house announced the appointment on Feb. 14. “Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome Pharrell as its new Men’s creative director with immediate effect,” the storied brand said in a statement.

The 49-year-old creative superstar fills the spot left vacant since the death of Virgil Abloh from cancer in November 2021.

Williams was not among those most rumored as the successor, but his streetwise sensibility meshes well with the brand’s recent push to attract younger audiences. “Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universe spans from music to art to fashion—establishing himself as a universal cultural icon over the past 20 years,” said the fashion house, part of the LVMH luxury conglomerate.

Louis Vuitton head Pietro Beccari praised Pharrell’s “creative vision beyond fashion,” saying it would lead the label “toward a new and very exciting chapter.”

In addition to teaming with brands, including Adidas, Diesel, Chanel, and Moncler, the prolific songwriter, producer, and performer has partnered with Louis Vuitton, including in 2008 on a jewelry and sunglasses line alongside then creative director Marc Jacobs.

He and his longtime partner, the fashion designer Helen Lasichanh, wed in 2013.

In 2016 Williams was named co-owner of jeans brand G-Star Raw, and also co-founded the Japanese clothing maker Billionaire Boys Club.

He was also a fan of Abloh’s. “Virgil, you were a kind, generous, thoughtful, creative genius. Your work as a human and your work as a spiritual being will live forever,” he wrote upon the designer’s death.

Born April 5, 1973 in the coastal US city of Virginia Beach, Williams and his childhood band camp friend Chad Hugo rose to fame beginning in the 1990s as the duo The Neptunes, after they were discovered by New Jack Swing architect Teddy Riley.

The polymaths shifted the sound of pop entirely, producing hit after hit, including Nelly’s “Hot in Here” and Britney Spears’ “I’m a Slave 4 U.”

‘His creative vision beyond fashion will without a doubt lead Louis Vuitton towards a new, very exciting chapter.’

Their shortlist of collaborations includes Gwen Stefani, Kelis, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, and Snoop Dogg. Williams also worked with major acts including Maroon 5, Shakira, and of course Daft Punk, including the songs “Get Lucky” and “Lose Yourself to Dance.”

Williams is also a star performer in his own right, including the globally viral hit “Happy,” as well as “Blurred Lines,” which he performed with Robin Thicke and T.I.

The Oscar nominee with 13 Grammy wins last year was inducted into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame as part of The Neptunes.

That night, wearing a showstopping cherry red leather suit, the ever-luminous artist—whose porcelain, seemingly ageless skin has spawned myriad beauty articles as well as a skincare line—delivered a lengthy ode to songwriting.

“When that sparkle hits, you feel it in your bone, you feel it in your body,” he said. “You feel this sense of direction.”

That urgent creative spirit is sure to be a boon at Louis Vuitton, whose sales have soared since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the company now worth more than $20 billion, helping turn the owner of its parent company LVMH, Bernard Arnault, into the world’s richest person.

Pharrell’s first collection is due to hit the runways in June during Men’s Fashion Week, the label said. (With a report from Olga Nedbaeva, AFP)