Hip hop artist Pharrell Williams has been an entrepreneur in the fashion industry for many years. The French luxury company Louis Vuitton is now hiring the 49-year-old as its new creative director. He follows the star designer Virgil Abloh, who died in 2021.
French luxury brand Louis Vuitton has named hip-hop artist and designer Pharrell Williams as its new menswear creative director. The 49-year-old has established himself “over the past 20 years as a universal cultural icon,” said Louis Vuitton. The company said it was “delighted” about the staff. Williams’ first collection is set to debut at Paris Fashion Week in June.
Pharrell Williams is a pop superstar with 13 Grammy and two Oscar nominations. For years he has sat front row at fashion shows around the world. Louis Vuitton’s business has been doing very well since the pandemic. The company is now worth more than $20 billion. Bernard Arnault, owner of the parent company LVMH, has also become the richest man in the world thanks to the luxury brand.
Williams rose to fame with hip hop group The Neptunes in the 1990s. In 2008 he already designed jewelry and sunglasses for Louis Vuitton. The brand and the musician have known each other for a long time. There was already a collaboration in 2004 and 2008. “His creative vision, which goes beyond fashion, will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton into a new, very exciting chapter,” said Louis Vuitton boss Pietro Beccari about the new designer.
Williams succeeds star designer Virgil Abloh, who died unexpectedly in November 2021 at the age of 41. Louis Vuitton made Abloh creative director of the men’s division in March 2018. Following Abloh’s death, Williams wrote on Instagram, “My heart is broken. Virgil, you were a gracious, generous, creative genius.”
