American musician Pharrell Williams is the new creative director of Louis Vuitton's menswear line.
The appointment is effective immediately, and his first collection for the French house will be revealed during Paris Men’s Fashion Week in June.

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,” said in a statement Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s chairman and ceo.

Pharrell will be Louis Vuitton's first menswear creative director following Abloh's passing in late 2021.
Williams will have to reflect the heritage of Virgil Abloh, who has become a fashion icon for having been able to combine luxury and streetwear. Pharrell 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. Pharrell excels as a fashion designer and entrepreneur with his Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream apparel (founded with his friend Nigo, the creative director of Kenzo) among other brands. He created numerous collaborations in the fashion industry. 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.

A longtime advocate against racial injustice, Pharrell was an integral part in the talks with Virginia Governor Ralph Northam about Juneteenth being a permanent paid state holiday and continued to make the push for it to become a national holiday.

Photo by Erik Ian