Louis Vuitton has appointed Pharrell Williams as its new Men’s Creative Director, effective immediately.
Pharrell’s first collection for Louis Vuitton will be unveiled in June at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris. The French fashion brand chose Pharrell to replace Virgil Abloh after his sudden death in 2021. The singer has worked on and off with the fashion brand since 2004.
“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,” adds Pietro Beccari, Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton. “His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.”
Pharrell Williams is a recording artist, producer, and songwriter turned fashion designer and entrepreneur. His music has garnered more than ten billion combined streams to date, and he has won 13 Grammy Awards—including Producer of the Year in 2004, 2014, and 2019.
In 2019, Williams received an Emmy-nomination for his original song, “Letter to my Godfather,” featured in Netflix’s Black Godfather about legendary music executive Clarence Avant. In 2020, Pharrell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for his work as The Neptunes.
In 2019, he founded YELLOW, a non-profit organization working to even the odds for all youth through education. The following year, he launched Black Ambition, another non-profit initiative that provides a bridge to success for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs who are launching tech, healthcare, web3, and consumer products or services start-ups.
Williams also launched the SOMETHING IN THE WATER multi-day music festival in Virginia Beach. Last year, the festival celebrated Juneteenth in Washington D.C. and will return to Virginia Beach this year to continue its mission of spotlighting the community.
Pharrell’s fashion designer chops come from his work with his Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream apparel brands. He teamed up with David Grutman in 2019 to open Swan and Bar Bevy in Miami’s Design District, as well as The Goodtime Hotel in 2021.