Somebody queue Lil Durk’s “What Happened To Virgil” anthem as it appears deceased creative Virgil Abloh’s close collaborator Pharrell Williams will be Louis Vuitton’s next men’s creative director.
According to an exclusive published by The Wall Street Journal, the luxury French fashion house has chosen the multi-platinum producer to take over Abloh’s vacant position as the brand’s men’s creative director. Williams, who is also a Virginia native, like Abloh, will join the LVMH brand amid historical growth. In 2018, Louis Vuitton became the first $10 billion luxury brand and managed to compound that figure in just four years. Following a surge in post-pandemic earnings, Louis Vuitton now sits at $20 billion in revenue — making it the biggest luxury brand in the world.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Louis Vuitton made the official announcement of William’s appointment as creative director, revealing his first collection would debut next June in Paris.
“Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome @Pharrell 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. #LouisVuitton #PharrellWilliams.”
Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome @Pharrell 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. #LouisVuitton #PharrellWilliams pic.twitter.com/GRCQFfOAHK
— Louis Vuitton (@LouisVuitton) February 14, 2023
Williams himself has a long history as a fashion entrepreneur, as well as a decades-long relationship with Louis Vuitton.
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In 2003, during the early days of The Neptune’s and N.E.R.D music collectives, Williams and Japanese fashion authority Nigo founded the global streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club (BBC). A few years later in 2005, Williams also brought to life his skateboarding-inspired shoe brand Ice cream. And in 2008, the “Happy,” vocalist collaborated with Louis Vuitton’s then-creative director Marc Jacobs on an exclusive series of jewelry designs and the striking, modular sunglasses they dubbed the “Millionaire” frames.
Throughout the years, Williams went on to collaborate with countless luxury brands such as Diesel, Chanel and Moncler. However, his most recent work manifests in the nearly decade-long relationship Williams has with sportswear giant Adidas — which spawned his popular NMD Hu athletic sneakers.
In a sense, Williams’ appointment as the creative director at Louis Vuitton seems fitting, as many of his peers are already in leadership roles with adjacent LVMH brands. Nigo, his partner in BBC streetwear crime, collaborated with Abloh in 2020 on a unique capsule collection for Louis Vuitton. The following year in 2021, Nigo was appointed as the artistic director of Kenzo, the French luxury LVMH brand founded in 1970 by Japanese designer Kenzo Takada. Rihanna, who Williams worked with on N.E.R.D’s No One Ever Really Dies comeback album track “Lemon,” also joined the LVMH brand in 2019 via a partnership with her luxury apparel line Fenty.
It’s clear Williams has stayed close to the brand since Abloh’s death in November 2021, as he sat in the front row at a Louis Vuitton show in Miami just days after Abloh’s passing. In an extended statement Williams shared on his personal Instagram account following the announcement of his appointment, Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s Chairman and CEO, effectively welcomed the 13-time Grammy Award-winning musician “back home.”
“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,” Beccari’s statement read in part. “His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.”
Abloh, who died at age 41 following a silent battle with cancer, spent three years with Louis Vuitton. He made history after he became the first African American appointed to a lead design role in a luxury European fashion house in 2018. While a large chunk of Abloh’s legacy this decade is attached to his time at Louis Vuitton, he also founded multiple influential labels of his own throughout the early 2010s.
In partnership with streetwear fashion icons Matthew Williams, Heron Preston and Justin Saunders, Abloh helped found the label Been Trill in 2012. The year following in 2013, Abloh founded his luxury fashion house Off-White and subsequently began a lucrative partnership with worldwide brand Nike in 2017 following the announcement of the sneaker collaboration “The Ten.”