Pharrell Williams Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
PARIS, FRANCE: Louis Vuitton on Monday, February 14, 2023, announced that Pharrell Williams is its new Men’s Creative Director. The position was previously held by Virgil Abloh. Williams’s first collection with Louis Vuitton will debut next June at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.
Paris, February 14th, 2023 – Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome Pharrell Williams as its new Men’s Creative Director, effective immediately. His first collection for Louis Vuitton will be revealed this June during the Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.
Pharrell Williams has been named the creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear.
The role was previously held by Virgil Abloh who died in November 2021.
It marks only the second time a Black American designer has held a head position at the French luxury house. Abloh made history as the first when he was appointed in March 2018.
A longtime supporter, and friend of Abloh, Williams’ appointment puts an end to months of speculation about who next would take on the highly coveted role.
Emerging talent such as the Jamaican-British designers Martine Rose and Grace Wales Bonner were previously said to be under discussion, so for many insiders the announcement of Williams was somewhat unexpected.
When Abloh took up the charge of Creative Director at Louis Vuitton, he was the first Black American to be a lead designer for a European luxury house. Meanwhile, Williams has been a fashion icon for years, as per TMZ. “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,” said Louis Vuitton’s Chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari.
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.” declares Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s Chairman and CEO.
Pharrell Williams Biography
Pharrell Williams is a visionary recording artist, producer, songwriter, philanthropist, fashion designer, and entrepreneur with 10B combined global music streams to date. He has been honored with 13 Grammy Awards, including 2004, 2014, and 2019 Producer of the Year, and ASCAP’s Golden Note Award in 2012. He has received two Academy Award nominations for his original song “Happy” (Despicable Me 2) and for Best Picture-nominated Hidden Figures (2016) as co-producer. Williams also received a Golden Globe Nomination for co-scoring the film. In 2019, Williams received an Emmy-nomination for his original song “Letter to My Godfather,” for Netflix’s Black Godfather about legendary music executive Clarence Avant. In 2020, Williams was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for his work as The Neptunes.
In 2018, Pharrell narrated Universal’s remake of the classic film The Grinch, authored the book A Fish Doesn’t Know It’s Wet, and released the Netflix Original series Brainchild (2018) with his producing partner, Mimi Valdés. Other projects include Dope (2015), Roxanne Roxanne (2017), Voices of Fire (2020) and Amazon’s Harlem, which has been renewed for a second season and Lena Waithe’s Rollin’ for HBO Max.
In 2019, Pharrell founded YELLOW, a non-profit working to even the odds for all youth through education, helping them realize their potential. In 2020, Williams launched Black Ambition, a non-profit initiative that provides a bridge to success for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs who are launching tech, healthcare, Web 3.0 and consumer products/services start-ups. A longtime advocate against racial injustice, Pharrell was an integral part in talks with Virginia Governor Northam about Juneteenth being a permanent paid state holiday. In April 2019, Williams launched his first SOMETHING IN THE WATER, a multi-day music festival and experience on the beach in his hometown of Virginia Beach. Last summer, Williams brought his SOMETHING IN THE WATER Music festival to Washington D.C. on Juneteenth Weekend (June 17 – 19). This April, SOMETHING IN THE WATER returns to Virginia Beach and will continue its mission spotlighting the community.
Pharrell excels as a fashion designer and entrepreneur with his Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream apparel among other brands. In the fall of 2019, Williams teamed up with David Grutman and opened both Swan and Bar Bevy in Miami’s Design District, and The Goodtime Hotel in 2021. In 2020, Pharrell founded Humanrace™, a product company with a mission to empower all individuals in their pursuit of wellbeing across product and people.
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
