Earlier this summer season, Pharrell Williams made his debut as artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear, efficiently showcasing his inaugural assortment throughout Paris Males’s Trend Week. Now, Williams welcomes GQ into his world, posing for the duvet of its September Hype problem.
In February 2023, the posh vogue home introduced Williams as its new artistic director of menswear, a task that had remained vacant for the reason that premature passing of Virgil Abloh in November 2021. Although social media had blended views in regards to the Grammy-winning artist’s appointment, Williams revealed to GQ that the chance was equally surprising for him. The polymath recalled sitting in his Miami Seaside studio when Louis Vuitton CEO Pietro Beccari contacted him in regards to the function.
“It wasn’t an interview or something,” Williams advised GQ. “It was like, ‘Will you settle for this place? Will you settle for this appointment?’ I’m trying on the water, and I’m identical to, ‘What?’ ”
Williams is not any stranger to the style world. Along with his stratospheric music profession, he has been a longtime artistic associate of Adidas, in addition to a artistic power behind streetwear labels like Billionaire Boys Membership, Ice Cream, Human Made, and G-Star Uncooked Denim, making him an influential determine in streetwear vogue with equal ties to luxurious vogue. Having maintained a longstanding and vital partnership with Chanel underneath the steering of the legendary Karl Lagerfeld, Williams made his mark as a collaborator, occasional runway mannequin, and a distinguished fixture within the entrance rows of quite a few high-profile vogue exhibits.
Regardless of his historical past within the vogue trade, Williams by no means imagined he can be thought of to succeed Abloh at Louis Vuitton. The star revealed he had truly advocated for his good buddy and frequent collaborator Nigo, the inventive director of LVMH legacy model Kenzo.
“He’s my hero, he’s my brother, and he’s the final,” mentioned Williams. “I’ve been championing him for a minute. And every time me and Alexandre [Arnault, son of LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault] speak about LV, we might at all times simply speak about completely different individuals. I’ve at all times been within the background, simply advising. I by no means thought that it could be me.”
Because the second Black man to fill the lads’s artistic director place, Williams continues to pay his respects to his broadly celebrated predecessor, Virgil Abloh. From bringing the final of Abloh’s designs for the label to fruition to dedicating his first Louis Vuitton present to him, Williams honors the unlucky fact that his new function resulted from the Off-White founder’s passing.
“I’ll at all times pay homage to him,” Williams advised GQ. “I at all times knew Virgil was particular. “It’s like we’re collaborating in spirit.”
At the moment, the Louis Vuitton workplace has a built-in recording studio within the space the place Abloh as soon as put in a DJ sales space. For Williams, an award-winning producer and recording artist, the house represents the intersection between his ardour for music and vogue.
“I shuttle between music and garments,” Williams defined. “Songs and footwear, equipment and harmonies. And it’s one fluid factor.”
Based on Beccari, Williams’ creativity and untraditional background made him a pure subsequent selection to guide the posh model.
“I wanted somebody who was once more linked to the humanities, who may contact the hearts of individuals via music and vogue, but in addition collaborations,” mentioned Beccari, per GQ. “He has 13 Grammys and even Oscar nominations. One may say he has a Midas contact. So, as a artistic director, whereas it’s an experiment, I believe will probably be a profitable one.”
As the brand new artistic director hopes to contribute to Louis Vuitton’s development, Williams says he isn’t solely centered on fiscal improvement.
“Development and style, development and setting the bar, development and exceeding requirements. The cash follows that,” Williams defined. “We’re not going to only do issues simply to become profitable, or else we’ll simply hold making the identical belts and sh-t. That’s not what I used to be introduced right here to do. I used to be introduced right here to shake the tree. That’s the way you get the sweetest apples.”
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