Pharrell's First Louis Vuitton Collection Gives Credit Where It's Due
Pharrell, the entrepreneur, designer, musician, and [insert additional superlative here] has finally done it all, having debuted his first-ever Louis Vuitton menswear collection on June 20, 2023. Appropriately, the affair was bold, bright, and branded to the gills: peak Pharrell, in other words.
You could tell this collection had Pharrell's "phingerprints" all over it, from the small touches — natty headwear, chunky leather shoes — to the overwhelming Louis Vuitton logo application. Remember, Pharrell has been in the streetwear game for two decades: he knows his way around a logo.
No shock that Pharrell's first Louis Vuitton collection would be a mélange of his signature inclinations, from the flash of retro hip-hop style (think Dapper Dan, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five) to sleek, contemporary tailoring.
So, what exactly did Pharrell's first Louis Vuitton collection, debuted on Paris' historic Pont Neuf bridge, look like?
Pharrell's Louis Vuitton collection is enormous, for one, but also so quintessentially Pharrell that it feels less like Pharrell directing an LV collection and more like LV giving birth to Pharrell's wildest fashion dreams.
For example, Louis Vuitton's signature Damier canvas was key to Pharrell's debut collection, rendered high-vis in contrasting black and yellow (a classic BBC graphic T-shirt trick) or digitized into a blocky camouflage that Pharrell calls "Damoflage."
It's an evolution of a pattern frequently utilized by Pharrell's own brands, like Billionaire Boys Club, in turn inspired by BAPE, the pioneering streetwear imprint founded by Pharrell's pal, NIGO.
It's a little Minecraft, a little mil-surp, and very Pharrell.
Louis Vuitton's SS24 men's suits were cut with matching shorts, epitomizing both Pharrell's unconventional suiting inclinations and his predilection for shorts (dude loves him some thigh-scrapers).
As a gospel choir chanted "JOY! JOY! JOY!" (one of new two songs that Pharrell composed for the runway show), models displayed clothes both baggy and refined. Nothing sloppy, just a lot of looseness, though there were plenty of comparatively trim looks.
It felt very contemporary, very of the moment, and very wearable — expect things to get wilder in future collections — made extra desirable by loads of reworked LV trunks, plush leather backpacks, and funky hats (remember that one Vivienne Westwood number?)
Though you could pull references to several of Pharrell's famous "phriends" out of the massive collection — Beyoncé, JAY-Z, and Rihanna made rare front-row appearances at the runway show — the most obvious stylistic nod was, really, Tyler, the Creator, whose preppy wardrobe is itself at least partially inspired by Pharrell's aughts aesthetic camouflage bowties aside.
Tyler must've felt right at home with Pharrell's LV berets, fur-trimmed aviator jackets, and loafers.
Comparisons to Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton's prior artistic director, are also inevitable, especially with the varsity jackets and skyscape-printed outerwear, but that's not a bad thing: we all stand on the shoulders of titans.
“This moment is dedicated to the giant before me," said Pharrell in a statement. "To our brother in spirit.”
It's Pharrell's world, we all just live in it. He made this clear in the days leading up to Men's Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2024, when nearly a half-dozen Pharrell-related activations suddenly sprang up in Paris.
There was [deep breath] the massive auction that colette co-founder Sarah Andelman curated for Pharrell's JOOPITER auction house; a Humanrace x adidas café selling exclusive Samba sneakers; and a Billionaire Boys Club diner commemorating the 20th anniversary of Pharrell's brand to name a few big moments.
They all pale in comparison to reason for the season, though: Pharrell's first Louis Vuitton menswear collection is such a big deal that it commanded headlines even before the first LV-branded sneaker touched the catwalk (you can thank the Rihanna-starring campaign, postcard-themed invitation, and inevitable pundit speculation for that).
One last, nice thing about Pharrell worth mentioning: he gives credit where credit is due.
At the end of the show, Pharrell invited the entire Louis Vuitton design team staff out to take a bow alongside the man himself at the end. Very nice.
