Louis Vuitton names Pharrell Williams head of menswear

Hip-hop singer Pharrell Williams has been named the new head of menswear at prestigious fashion label Louis Vuitton, the company said on Tuesday.

“Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome Pharrell as its new Men’s Creative Director with immediate effect,” the storied brand said in a statement.

Williams fills the void left by Virgil Abloh’s who died from cancer in November 2021.

The 49-year-old has been a regular in the front row of fashion shows for years and is a well-known superstar in the music industry with 13 Grammy awards and two Oscar nominations.

“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.

His first collection for Louis Vuitton will be presented in June during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris, it added.

“I’m delighted to see Pharrell come back to the house as the new creative director for men, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton,” said the fashion house’s chief executive, Pietro Beccari.

“His creative vision beyond fashion will without a doubt lead Louis Vuitton towards a new, very exciting chapter,” he said.

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Louis Vuitton’s sales have increased dramatically, and the brand is now valued at over $20 billion, making Bernard Arnault, owner of LVMH, the richest man in the world.

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The French company had been happy to continue riding the publicity Abloh’s three-year stay has produced, utilising his team and guest designers for recent exhibitions.

Abloh, who passed away at the age of 41, rose to fame among millennials for skillfully fusing streetwear with luxury couture.

With a performance by pop artist Rosalia and a show directed by a group of highly anticipated young designers, Louis Vuitton put on one of the most talked-about events of menswear week in Paris last month.

Williams, who came to fame in the 1990s as part of hip-hop group The Neptunes, was not often mentioned in speculation surrounding the job.

But he fits with the label’s recent moves to attract a younger, streetwear-focused audience, and the interests he shares with Abloh include skateboarding, art and music.

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.

He has previously teamed with other fashion brands for individual lines, including Diesel, Chanel, Moncler and Adidas.

His partnership with Louis Vuitton in 2008 under then-creative director Marc Jacobs was for a jewellery and sunglasses line.

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