Beats on the bridge, bling on the ear

2023-06-24 09:33:50
HomePanoramaPharrell Williams’ debut show for Louis Vuitton: Beats on the bridge, bling on the ear

When musician Pharrell Williams fulfills his creative duties at Louis Vuitton, there is music in it. Even if Bernard Arnault is not a fan of rap.

Sabine Rothig

Expensive jewelery and Damier checks on their bodies – yes, that’s what Louis Vuitton fans look like. Here are two particularly famous ones: the heavily pregnant Rihanna and her boyfriend Asap Rocky.LOUIS VUITTON

It wasn’t a quiet event. The center of Paris around the Seine bridge Pont Neuf had to wait until midnight for its well-deserved sleep. Because that’s how long the musician Pharrell Williams celebrated his debut as creative director at Louis Vuitton on Tuesday. And that was loud, even towards the end very sea.

The presentation of Pharrell’s first men’s collection had been awaited with great anticipation in fashion circles, since Louis Vuitton had not done anything about the successor for a long time after the sudden death of Virgil Abloh. Only last February, after more than a year of waiting, was it officially announced who would take a seat in one of the coveted executive chairs from the French luxury brand. The fact that Pharrell was chosen as the new creative head of the men’s line came as only a moderate surprise. After Abloh’s free conceptual work, everything was conceivable – and a celebrity from the friendly environment seemed a good choice to pick up the fan base.

Left: A model carries a boat-shaped bag with the address of the Louis Vuitton Paris headquarters at 2 rue de Pont Neuf. Right: The Damier-patterned bridge that became the runway.Louis Vuitton

So the bridges that the ingenious Abloh built between Louis Vuitton and Black Culture are now solid building stock for his successor. After all, Louis Vuitton is: the penchant for grand gestures. And according to Abloh, all of this can also be read in the codes of hip-hop. The jewellery, the logos, the patterns, the sneakers and the colorful college jackets. So that night, Pont Neuf, the famous Parisian bridge and the venue for Pharrell’s fashion show, became a symbol of connecting the past with the now. According to the accompanying letter from the house, Pont Neuf also stands for Pharrell’s journey from his native Virginia to Paris, where he is currently residing because of his new job.

In any case, his fashion debut was accompanied by closed roads and official Paris traffic chaos. One would have thought an endangered head of state was coming to visit, the lockdown seemed so extreme. But no, it was actually “just” a fashion show. And on this occasion, Pont Neuf became the Louis Vuitton catwalk.

And it shone luxuriously, because the old cobblestones of the bridge had been covered with a golden Damier pattern. The coating should have lasted only one day. Incidentally, the shimmering coating disappeared again in an even shorter time, because the next morning it looked as if nothing had happened. Too bad actually. The brand’s famous checkerboard pattern actually fits the area quite well, as Louis Vuitton’s headquarters are located at the foot of the Pont Neuf.

Louis Vuitton menswear for summer 2024: Damier patterns everywhere you look. Demonstrated on the left by Stefano Pilati.Louis Vuitton

Models on golf caddies took them across the Pont Neuf bridge to present Pharrell’s huge suitcases Julien de Rosa/AFP

The pattern was then repeated in various variations in Pharrell’s men’s collection for the following summer. But it was quite a while before you saw them and the sun was already beginning to color the scenery red. But there had to be enough time for everyone to stroll around, take photos and marvel at the prominent guests who flocked here in droves. Above all, of course, two power couples: Rihanna and Asap Rocky as well as Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Also the glitter rappers Quavo and Offset, workaholic Anna Wintour, long-term model Naomi Campbell, French greeting Jared Leto, Kim Kardashian, Lenny Krawitz and, and, and. Fashion colleagues were also there, with Givenchy creative director Matthew M. Williams as a guest and fashion designer Stefano Pilati, who lives in Berlin, even walked across the bridge as a model.

Pharrell’s designs are more muted compared to Abloh’s overflowing imagination. The leitmotif is Damier, which he lets dance, so to speak. It falls apart on the fabrics and reassembles. There are motifs by American pixel artist ET Artist, 3D pigment prints, the “Damouflage” as a camouflage twist, hand-embroidered Damier beadwork, and a houndstooth twist as a nod to traditional men’s wardrobes. Many two-piece suits, elegant ones made of fine fabrics or with streetwear references made of denim or leather, can be seen. Pharrell’s favorite glasses with the small oval lenses have also found their way into his Louis Vuitton collection in different versions. You can see diamonds on the ears of the models. Also, there is a lot of luggage. Pharrell designed large suitcases and chests, which are driven across the bridge by models in golf caddies. In these moments, the show seems like a motley play.

Pharrell lets the Damier dance and invents “Damouflage”.Louis Vuitton

The Monogram pattern also found its way into Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton collection, as seen here on the plush coat and bag.Louis Vuitton

The music played live by an orchestra also contributes to this. The well-known pianist Lang Lang sits at the piano. As the show begins, the lanterns on Pont Neuf flicker to the beat. The bridge seems enchanted. Then a hip-hop track. In “Chains ‘n Whips” Pusha T raps out of the boxes: “Nigga, you must be sick, all you talk about is just gettin’ rich” and “too much enamel covers your necklace, I buy bitches, you buy ’em sections , you buy watches, I buy collections.” Which brings us back to hip hop and bling. Beyoncé and Jay-Z bob their heads to the beat on the first row. Sitting next to them is LVMH majority owner Bernard Arnault, who, along with Elon Musk, is one of the top two richest people in the world. His head doesn’t bob.

The show is over and Pharell Williams says thank you. And half an hour later he’s singing along with Jay-Z.(Julien de Rosa/AFP

The last section of the fashion show is accompanied by the gospel song “Joy”, which Pharrell composed especially for this occasion. And the title said it all, because after the gigantic show, the huge, happy bridge party began with live performances by the creative director and his friend Jay-Z. What a night.