Fashion and music is like time and space, you can’t have one without the other
-Pharrell Williams
- Pharrell Williams is in talks to succeed Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitt
- Williams is a music hitmaker, responsible for chart-conquering earworms, and is also a fashion entrepreneur.
- Louis Vuitton has experienced significant growth since 2018, doubling its revenue to $20 billion.
- Williams has collaborated with fashion brands like Diesel, Chanel, and Moncler in the past.
- LVMH has been working closely with celebrities, such as Rihanna and Rosalia, to create buzzy collaborations.
Grammy winning producer and artist Pharrell Williams, is in talks to become the next head of design at Louis Vuitton, the crown jewel of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA luxury conglomerate, people familiar with the matter said.
If appointed, the 49-year-old native of Virginia Beach, Va., would assume the role previously held by Virgil Abloh, who died in November 2021. Mr. Abloh was the first Black American to be appointed to a head design position at a European luxury house. Mr. Williams, who rose to prominence in the late 1990s as a part of hip-hop production duo the Neptunes, could be the second.
Staying close to the cutting edge of taste from hip hop cultural figures since the appointment of Abloh, a protege of Kanye West, the company’s then chairman and CEO Michael Burke, said, “Having followed with great interest Virgil’s ascent since he worked with me at Fendi in 2006, I am thrilled to see how his innate creativity and disruptive approach have made him so relevant, not just in the world of fashion but in popular culture today. His sensibility towards luxury and savoir faire will be instrumental in taking Louis Vuitton’s menswear into the future.”
Abloh was poised to take Vuitton into the future because of the way he appreciates both worlds.
Pharrell was also greatly admire by Virgil who said in a 2017 interview , that “Mr. Williams was one of his five ideal dinner companions.” When the Chicago native fashion icon died, Mr. Williams tweeted out “My heart is broken Virgil you were a kind, generous, thoughtful creative genius.”
Update: Louis Vuitton welcomed the skateboard rapper on Tuesday to their team via Instagram:
The brand posted a picture of Skateboard P stating:
Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome Pharrell Williams as its new Men’s Creative Director. His first collection for Louis Vuitton will be revealed next June during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.
Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universes expand from music to art, and to fashion – establishing himself as a cultural global icon over the past twenty years. The way in which he breaks boundaries across the various worlds he explores, aligns with Louis Vuitton’s status as a Cultural Maison, reinforcing its values of innovation, pioneer spirit, and entrepreneurship.
“I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Men’s Creative Director. His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.”
– Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s Chairman and CEO.
