Paris Fashion Week but the P of course stands for Pharrell. Since the announcement in February that the decorated musician would take the helm as menswear creative director of Louis Vuitton in lieu of the late Virgil Abloh, there has been a mixture of opinions and a new discourse raised in the fashion sphere.
Should celebrities be creative directors or should it be left to those traditionally trained in the school of fashion?
Pharrell raises a good point for the former as “a creative designer from the perspective of the consumer, [he] didn’t go to Central Saint Martins” but he emphasizes that “[he] definitely went in the stores and purchased” and knows what he likes. Though this may not be the ultimate, it is a point that is true and can’t be ignored that sometimes the consumer knows what’s best and I think this collection was designed with the ardent and fanatical LV consumer in mind. So without further adieu, let’s get into the details of this next chapter for LV.
For his debut collection, the oldest bridge on the River Seine, the iconic Pont Neuf, was emblazoned with the iconic Damier motif with models and celebrities alike walking the runway to a classical doomsday song played by an orchestra, unreleased music by Pharrell and long time collaborators Clipse who also walked the shows, and the Voices of Fire choir singing Joy.
The show opened with a silhouette that is quintessential in Louis Vuitton Menswear, the tailored blazer but with an extended, folded lapel and a matching waistcoat and shorts. Paired with a brown leather bag designed in the style of a paper lunch bag.
The next look introduced the new “Damoflage” print with a paper doll chain cut-out jacket paired with a tailored suit.
Some other recurring themes seen throughout the collection include the re-imagination of Louis Vuitton classics, such as the Alma and the Speedy Bandoulière. We also see a nod to the iconic Pharrell x Tiffany sunglasses with oval shaped sunglasses and heavily embellished frames.
What I love the most about this collection is that to me, it really does feel like Pharrell Williams’ Louis Vuitton. From the Pharrell-esque accessories like the sunglasses, trapper hats, oversized bowling hats but again re-imagined as a beanie with pearls.
Which brings me onto a further theme that we see in this debut collection, and my favorite. Pearls. We see the tailored suit short set that we know all too well again but covered in pearl embellishments, and again we see a pearl embellished LV Damier coat and pearl encrusted speedy bandoulière.
Are you and LVover or and LVhater?
From a teaser shown prior to the show we saw the discussion between Pharrell that propelled the creation of this new LV slogan which we see splayed on a dark blue crocodile varsity jacket worn by UK Rapper Santandave.
Metallics and mink were also worked through the collection, seen in some of the accessories such as the metallic gold trunk, the fur shoes with paw prints on the sole and the yellow mink fur coat with the monogram tessellated on the fur.
Williams brought music and fashion together in the best way, with an audience of approximately 1750 attendees including celebrities on the frow like Beyonce, Jay-Z, Bernard Arnault, Jude Bellingham, Lewis Hamilton, Megan the Stallion, Offset, Rihanna, ASAP Rocky, Skepta and many more. The night ended with a performance from Jay-Z, a long time friend and supporter of Pharrell with him stating how “proud “ he is.
This was a really good first collection from Pharrell and I’m excited to see what he continues to produce and if he can stand as an advocate for the celebrity, multi hyphenate creative directors.
