Pharrell Williams Named Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Creative Director

Pharrell Williams is taking over the late Virgil Abloh’s role as Louis Vuitton’s menswear creative director. The news was first confirmed on February 14 by long-standing French newspaper Le Figaro before Pharrell and Louis Vuitton themselves actually made the announcement.

Pharrell will become Louis Vuitton’s first permanent head of menswear since Abloh passed in late 2021. Pharrell’s creative director title is however distinct from Abloh’s position at Louis Vuitton, which was “artistic director.”

In Louis Vuitton’s Instagram’s post, the fashion powerhouse confirmed the speculation and praised Pharrell as “a visionary whose creative universes expand from music to art, and to fashion.” Additionally, the manner in which Pharrell has “established himself as a cultural global icon over the past twenty years” was given a warm shout-out, too.

The company also went on to laud Pharrell Williams as an individual who continually “breaks boundaries across the various worlds he explores.”

Pietro Beccari, the chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton, took a moment to “welcome Pharrell back home,” as the company had collaborated with him in both 2004 and 2008.

Pharrell’s first Louis Vuitton collection will debut in June 2023 as part of Men’s Fashion Week in Paris, which suggests that he’s already had time to work with the LV menswear team ,collections usually take many months to assemble.

Louis Vuitton was without a permanent creative or artistic director for the entirety of 2022, instead presenting collections designed by the remaining menswear design team alongside a series of tributes to Abloh.

Somto Bisina