American musician, report producer and designer Pharrell Williams will succeed Virgil Abloh as Louis Vuitton’s males’s inventive director, in line with a press release issued by the French luxurious style home on Tuesday.
The appointment is efficient instantly and his first assortment will debut in June throughout Males’s Trend Week in Paris.
“I’m glad to welcome Pharrell again house, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Males’s Inventive Director,” mentioned Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s chairman and CEO in a press release. “His inventive imaginative and prescient past style will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton in direction of a brand new and really thrilling chapter.”
The information comes just a little over a yr after Abloh’s dying in November 2021, age 41, following a personal battle with most cancers.
The visionary designer’s surprising passing despatched shockwaves by means of the business and past. As the primary Black creative director of Louis Vuitton, Abloh made historical past when he was appointed in 2018 and was extensively credited for bringing a youthful demographic to the storied style home with designs that introduced a streetwear aesthetic to the posh world.
Virgil Abloh at a Louis Vuitton occasion in 2021 in Paris. Credit score: Christian Vierig/Getty Photos
Information of Williams’ appointment ends months of hypothesis over who would succeed Abloh.
Whereas Williams, a 13-time Grammy winner, is best recognized for his music profession, the 49-year-old has a strong set of style credentials, too. He co-founded streetwear label Billionaire Boys Membership in 2003 with designer Nigo and has collaborated with a slew of luxurious manufacturers together with Tiffany & Co., Moncler and Adidas.
Pharrell Williams and his spouse Helen Lasichanh on the 2021 Met Gala. Credit score: Lexie Moreland/WWD/Penske Media/Getty Photos
From an enormous brown topper hat he wore to the 2014 Grammy Awards to his now-signature bejeweled Tiffany shades, Williams’s daring private model usually makes headlines and he’s no stranger to style’s entrance row.
How Williams will apply his skillset to his new function at Louis Vuitton stays to be seen however a flurry of business reactions to the information throughout social media recommend he’ll have a packed home at his first present this summer season.