Hip hop artist Pharell Williams and long-time partner and fashion designer Nigo showcased their artistry in the Louis Vuitton men’s fall-winter fashion show collaboration Jan. 21 in Paris.
Grammy Award-winning artist Pharrell Williams became Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director in February 2023, following previous brand collaborations in 2004 and 2008.
Pharrell and Nigo met in the early 2000s because of their mutual love for streetwear fashion. Creating a strong friendship the two worked together in the past on projects such as Billionaires Boys Club (BBC) and the Ice Cream brand.
Japanese designer Nigo, also known as Tomoaki Nagao, has an extensive fashion career, as the founder of A Bathing Ape (BAPE) in 1993 and Human Made in 2010. He collaborated with late fashion designer Virgil Abloh, previous creative designer for Louis Vuitton and founder of popular streetwear brand Off-White.
“He [Pharrell’s] creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter,” Louis Vuitton CEO Pietro Beccari said.
The line features Nigo’s previous chic workwear designs meshed with Pharell’s streetwear sense of style to create a blend of the two designs’ subcultured roots, and includes many new bags with most looks.
“I really liked it. Definitely very creative. Very Pharrell. Very bright,” said freshman mechanical engineering student Ralph Frasier.
The show sparked many opinions on men’s fashion and Pharell’s position in Louis Vuitton. There is a split between those who find the looks intriguing and those who find it boring or unoriginal.
“I know I saw online people that are I guess more into fashion said they don’t really like where Pharell is taking his direction with Louis Vuitton. Think it’s kind of like uninspired a bit, like I guess bland,” said sophomore journalism student Brantley Gibson. “Me personally, as someone that is not familiar with fashion, it looked pretty cool to me.”
With a pink vinyl as the stage, the off-beat show had models walking in circles with the audience viewing from inside and outside the curved runway with a full orchestra in the center of the room. Archived pieces were also showcased on the stage in cases as the models walked.
Pharell’s previous work with Louis Vuitton includes accessories, this being his first full fashion collection. He cultivated the “Millionaire Sunglasses” from the spring-summer 2004 collection, also in collaboration with Nigo. In 2008, the producer worked with the company’s jewelry designer Camille Miceli for the “Blason” collection.
For more details, all looks are posted on Louis Vuitton’s website.
