The legendary French luxury brand, Louis Vuitton announced in early February that GRAMMY award-winning producer, songwriter, rapper, singer, entrepreneur– the king of wearing many hats, Pharrell Williams was named the new creative director for the brand’s menswear collection.
LISTEN NOW: Pharrell and Luxury Fashion’s Hip-Hop Obsession - Popcast
But was this the best choice or a safe one? Is it an ode to the Hip-Hop community or is the brand testing to see how disposable the Hip-Hop aesthetic is? Complex’s Aria Hughes sat down with Jon Caramanica of the Popcast podcasts to dive into the intersection of luxury fashion and Hip-Hop and what this new appointment means for future urban artists.
Aria did disclose early on that she felt Pharrell was the safest option for this position; with him being attractive, stylish and not too vocal about his views, he doesn’t prove much of a risk to a brand like LV.
However, Williams being a “safe” choice doesn’t make him a bad one either. Aria and Jon both described Pharrell as “influential” and “bold,” referring back to him being seen rocking a purple crocodile Hermes Birkin bag and explaining that he is the type of person who would be like “I see everybody wearing hoodies but I bet I could get a crazier hoodie in Japan.”
While it is known that some people are unhappy with Pharrell being placed in this position, Aria stresses that you can’t deny his influence on the culture and fashion. He broke the boundaries of what clothing is associated with Hip-Hop and they believe he’ll bring this same attitude to his collection.
Jon believes Pharrell is interested in shifting both areas: luxury fashion and Hip-Hop, stating that he will be “subverting luxury by infusing it with a kind of presentational attitude that comes from Hip-Hop and I think he was actually interested in subverting Hip-Hop style by infusing what we think of as pieces or themes that come from outside.”
And that’s what makes Pharrell so special, he doesn’t see Hip-Hop and Black culture in one way, like Aria said, “Black culture, Black art, Black aesthetic, we come in multitudes.”
The question arose, does this open the door for more urban artists to work with high-end brands? Aria believes yes but she also hopes that Pharrell “navigates it in a way that has some trickle down effect for Black and Brown designers.”
The position was previously held by the late Virgil Abloh who passed away in 2021. Williams' first collection for the label will be shown at the Men's Fashion Week in Paris in June.
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