American musician, producer and stylist Pharrell Williams will succeed Virgil Abloh, who died in November 2021, as artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s collections, luxury brand LVMH has announced (owner of the Parisian), confirming information from the Wall Street Journal.
The appointment of Pharrell Williams is in line with the legacy of Virgil Abloh, a jack-of-all-trades artist who became a fashion icon with his mix of streetwear and luxury. “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,” writes the luxury brand in a press release.
Previous fashion collaborations
Born in Virginia Beach, on the East Coast of the United States, Pharrell Williams, 49 years old and 10 million subscribers on Twitter, has made numerous collaborations in fashion, in particular with the Japanese Nigo, recently appointed artistic director of Kenzo who also belongs to LVMH.
Accustomed to the front rows of fashion shows, he has also participated in the creation of eyewear for Vuitton and collaborated with Adidas for Superstar and Stan Smith sneakers. The last Vuitton show, in January, was marked by the performance of pop superstar Rosalia who stole the show from the collection.
Since the death of the American Virgil Abloh, the first black stylist to occupy a position of this level in a European luxury house, it is the Louis Vuitton studios that are in charge of the men’s collections.