why Pharrell Williams was chosen to succeed Virgil Abloh as menswear creative director

“Louis Vuitton is pleased to announce Pharrell Williams as Menswear Creative Director effective immediately”, announced the brand in a press release on Tuesday, February 14. The American musician, producer and stylist Pharrell Williams will therefore succeed Virgil Abloh, who died in November 2021. “His first collection for Louis Vuitton will be unveiled next June during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris”, the statement added. The news turns the fashion world upside down and raises questions. What does succeeding Virgil Abloh mean? Why Pharrel Williams? What place does he have in fashion and how does his profile as a polymorphic and atypical artist come into play?

Pharrell Williams inside the mind of Virgil Abloh

Virgil Abloh renewed the image of Louis Vuitton. Right arm of Kanye West, Virgil Abloh became his stylist in 2002 at the age of 22 while evolving with the rapper in the artistic direction of his albums. Virgil Abloh has shaken up the fashion world since the creation of his Off-White label in 2013: a tribute to streetwear style, he parades his models in jogging pants made of light and reflective synthetic materials. His imprint is immediate. At the head of Louis Vuitton’s men’s collections in March 2018, he presented his first collection in the gardens of the Palais Royal, transformed for the occasion into a rainbow catwalk, in reference to the LGBTQ+ community, in front of an audience of celebrities. His creations are valued by actors in the hip-hop and rap scene, including Pharrell Williams, who wear them in their music videos or on the red carpets. Virgil Abloh plays with codes. “Rebel against the formal and stuffy“, he said on Instagram at the time of the presentation of his first collection. Virgil Abloh plays with colors and patterns. He takes up the iconic Louis Vuitton monogram which he incorporates in relief on suit jackets, adds graffiti on long silk shirts…

Like Virgil Abloh, Pharrell Williams plays with codes. He doesn’t hesitate to be totally out of step with the red carpets he treads in Bermuda shorts, the laces undone with an Adidas tracksuit jacket, instead of the traditional gala costume with a bow tie. Like Virgil Abloh, Pharrell Williams comes from an urban universe. Williams is at the intersection between different artistic forms. A standard bearer for R&B and hip-hop music in the 2000s, he quickly incorporated his musical influences into his own style.

Pharrell Williams, a trendy streetwear signature look

Singer, producer and musician, it is above all in the music industry that Pharrell Williams leaves his mark. At the age of 20, he created the producer duo Neptunes and quickly collaborated with hip-hop and R&B artists, including the singer Kelis, known for her song Milkshake. He collaborates with the greatest on essential hits: Hot in Here by rapper Nelly, number one in sales in the United States, but also I’m a Slave 4 Uby Britney Spears which he wrote and which broke the puritanical image of the singer.

Pharrell Williams quickly incorporates his musical influences into his attire. It combines ethnic pieces with signature clothing from streetwear culture such as baggy pants or hoodies. He always brings the very colorful “Pharrell touch”: two-tone socks, shirts or jackets with graffiti or pins, fabric bracelets,… Pharrell Williams is definitely a streetwear dandy, making any room elegant.

Pharrell Williams wants to break the codes. His look becomes the emblem of his visual identity as an artist. The oversized hats created by Vivienne Westwood that he wore at the exit of the planetary success Happymade him immediately recognizable. “When I was in school, we would watch A Tribe Called Quest or De la Soul, and they wore leather medallions at the time with Air Max. All of these interesting schools of thought relate to our experiences as African Americans.”explains Pharrell Williams in a video interview for Vogue magazine in 2015.

“Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative worlds span from music to art and fashion – establishing himself as a universal cultural icon over the past twenty years.” explains in the press release the Vuitton house. “His ability to overcome the boundaries between the different worlds he explores fits naturally with the cultural dimension of Louis Vuitton, reinforcing its values ​​of innovation, pioneering spirit and entrepreneurship.“, emphasizes the house again.

Already two collaborations with Louis Vuitton

Pharrell Williams is not at his first attempt with Louis Vuitton. “I am happy to see Pharrell coming home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008“, said Pietro Beccari, CEO of Louis Vuitton in a statement. In 2004, Pharrell Williams collaborated for the first time with Louis Vuitton and his friend Nigo, real name Tomoaki Nagao, rapper, producer and close to Kanye West. C he is now the artistic director of the house of Kenzo. Together they design a collection of sunglasses under the name Millionaire.

In 2008, Pharrell Williams once again collaborated with Louis Vuitton for a jewelry collection, in collaboration with Camille Miceli, then Louis Vuitton’s jewelry consultant. The collection Coat of arms included rings and a diamond bracelet. A bling-bling style, signature of American rappers of the 2000s. This new collaboration with Pharrell Williams in 2023 makes Pietro Beccari very happy. “His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton to a very exciting new chapter”, he adds. Pharrell Williams knew Virgil Abloh well, who was part of the same circle of friends as the artist.

Billionaire Boys Club, the brand of Pharrell Williams and a collaboration with Chanel

In 2003, Pharrell launched his own ready-to-wear brand, Billionaire Boys Club, “focused more on celebrating originality and self-expression than on financial realities: wealth is of the heart and mind, not of the pocket“, proclaims the motto of the brand. Pharrell Williams joins the wave of streetwear clothing that springs up at this time.

Each collaboration with a clothing brand is an event, whether with Adidas or Colette. His capsule collection with Chanel in 2019 takes up key pieces of streetwear style such as bucket hats, banana bags or sweatshirts that he personalizes with pearls. His pieces are available in vibrant colors: pink and flashy yellow, green, blue,…”There were already existing pieces and they allowed me to bring more color to them. I felt like other things were missing. As a man I always wanted to have lots of belts and I had the joy of wearing women’s belts that matched my body. I wish there were at least unisex versions”he explained at the time of the collection with Chanel in a video interview with GQ magazine in 2019.

Pharrell Williams attaches importance to femininity in her looks. He considers it important not to deny it and embodies it through the wearing of jewels like pearls. Her friend, the artist Kelis, said to her: “you have to diversify, you can’t just wear polo shirts all the time, you have to look at what Versace or Prada are doing”revealed Pharrell Williams in a video interview for the magazine vogue in 2015. He goes on to explain his vision of fashion: “My style comes from what I see in everyday people who dress according to what they do in the day, like a bus driver or an athlete. It’s the way they wear the clothes that inspires me, and I spin it my way.”