Has there ever been a more star-studded front row than at last night’s Louis Vuitton menswear show? Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Zendaya, Kim Kardashian and their crew of suited and booted bodyguards made their way to Paris for Pharrell’s debut collection for the house. Such fanfare isn’t surprising for a man whose cultural barometer stretches far wide across music, fashion, and art (a day before the show, Pharrell’s auction house, Joopiter, opened an exhibition of the multi-hyphenate’s elite inner circle, including works of KAWS and Takashi Murakami).
Pharrell is a hit maker, a skill that cleverly transverses to the world fashion. From his streetwear label Billionaire Boys Club, created with Kenzo’s Nigo, to buzzy link-ups with Chanel and Tiffany & Co, since the early Noughties he has proven himself as a maestro of serious fashion hype (Pharrell even collaborated with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton on sunglasses back in 2002).
Not short of spectacle, the house cloaked the entirety of the Pont Neuf, Paris’ oldest bridge, in its signature Damier check. Guests were ferried to the stadium-sized production, which came soundtracked by a score engineered by Pharrell that sandwiched Chinese pianist Lang Lang with lauded hip hop duo Clipse (Pusha T and No Malice, who also walked the show) and an emotive gospel performance from Voices of Fire.
The collection saw plenty clever re-workings of signature Louis Vuitton codes. The Damier check, for instance, came in pixilated, camouflaged variations – dressing up faux fur bombers, tailored jackets and slim-fitting trousers that sprouted into flares at the ankle. More classic iterations of the motif could also be seen across biker-inspired leather sets, checkerboard overcoats and cracking denim co-ords. Throughout, the designer emblazoned the Parisian skyline across beefy coats and proposed schoolboy shorts and rugby polos in striped leather.
Sprinklings of Pharrell’s personal style could be seen, too. Be it the pearls and lady-like jackets, the latter worn by Stefano Pilati, to varsity-style jackets both he and Virgil Abloh favoured. In his notes, Pharrell dedicated the show to his late predecessor: “This moment is dedicated to the giant before me. To my brother in spirit.”
Looking to the past to charge forward, nostalgia threaded the collection’s accessories. Pharrell revived LV’s Miroir bag, a Noughties, much-papped icon, and fashioned the house’s monogrammed Speedy bags in primary hues – inspired by knockoffs on New York’s Canal Street. (In his youth, Pharrell’s first introduction to Louis Vuitton came from witnessing the work of bootleg maven Dapper Dan.)
As the choir repeatedly chanted “Joy” in unison, an emotional Pharrell, flanked by security personnel, made a teary bow: saluting Bernard Arnault and hugging his wife Helen Lasichanh and their four children, all whilst praying to the sky. He capped off the evening with a performance with Jay-Z – serenading the beginning of what’s set to be a stellar tenure for the house. The bar has been set.
Photography by Christina Fragkou.
