Pharrell Williams On Louis Vuitton Debut: ‘Everyday I Gotta Pinch Myself’
Pharrell has reflected on his short time since being promoted to one of his dream jobs of being appointed to Men’s Head Designer at Louis Vuitton.
WWDsat down with the fashionable multi-hyphenate entertainer ahead of the debut of his first collection as part of the LV family at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday (June 20).
“Every day, I gotta pinch myself because it’s an appointment, and I was chosen,” Williams said of the position. “Pietro saw something, and I’m touched by that and I honor that every day.”
The “Happy” hitmaker is set to unveil his debut offering for the fashion house on June 20 at 9:30 p.m. local time.
The collection, which will be under the artistic direction of Nicolas Ghesquière, marks the first with Pharrell as its creative director.
Pharrell has heard the noise when it comes to those believing he’s unqualified for the esteemed Louis Vuitton position, but had a shrewd response pointing to his decorated music career.
“I didn’t go to Central Saint Martins, but I also didn’t go to Juilliard either in music and I mean, we see how that turned out,” the Grammy-winner said. “It’s cool. That’s a very fair observation. But neither did Vivienne Westwood, right? Tadao Ando was self-taught. I mean, he’s the GOAT, right? I only aspire to express myself.”
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Succeeding Virgil Abloh at LV is not something Pharrell takes lightly and he believes there’s a connection people can draw a straight line through between himself, Kanye West and the late Virgil Abloh when it comes to music and fashion impact.
“It’s crazy because you can see a photo of myself with Kanye [West] and Virgil wearing the sunglasses, so it’s like all of this serendipitous connection,” he added.
Pharrell initially teased the collection last week with a larger-than-life-sized billboard outside a museum in Paris with Rihanna’s help, who played the role of muse to model a look that will be seen in the show.
Rihanna is seen rocking a black leather shirt which is about half-buttoned as her pregnant belly is on full display. She’s holding a coffee in one hand and an array of monogrammed Louis Vuitton bags on her arms featuring just about the entire color wheel.
“LOUIS VUITTON MEN Spring-Summer 2024,” P captioned the Instagram post.