Celebs
Pharrell Williams Named New Creative Director For Louis Vuitton
The ‘Happy’ singer is filling the role left vacant after the death of Virgil Abloh in 2021.
Music and entertainment mogul Pharrell Williams has been named as the men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton. The LVMH label first confirmed the news on Tuesday (Feb. 14) via Twitter.
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“Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome Pharrell as its new Men’s Creative Director,” wrote the fashion house.
The announcement is effective immediately, with Williams’ first collection for Louis Vuitton set to debut during Paris Men’s Fashion Week this June.
“I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton,” said Pietro Beccari, the brand’s chairman and chief executive officer, in a press statement. “His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton toward a new and very exciting chapter.”
Williams is no stranger to the fashion and beauty world. In addition to co-designing eyewear and jewelry for Louis Vuitton, he has previously inked several collaborations with Timberland, Nike, Addidas, Chanel, and more. He is also co-founder of the iconic Billionaire Boys Club streetwear and Ice Cream footwear brands and launched his own skincare and wellness brand, Humanrace, in 2021.
The appointment is bittersweet as it was previously held by the late designer and fashion visionary Virgil Abloh, who died of cancer in November 2021. Abloh was the first African American to hold such a position in a European luxury fashion house.
He and Williams were also friends, with Abloh previously crediting Williams for influencing his groundbreaking artistic creativity.
“[He said] that it was fine to be in between,” said Abloh in the New York Times about Williams riding the line between “white” and “Black” artistry. “…[H]e came along with a different panache as a producer, an artist, a tastemaker, an individual. That sort of held a mirror up for me — it was a new prototype, and it came with a new sound. A lot of the freedom that exhibits in my practice is of that same sort of risk-taking.”
We look forward to seeing what new risks Williams pulls up with now as he forges this new creative path.
