The appointment of Pharrell Williams as creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear closes one of the most talked about chapters in recent fashion history. It’s finally official who is following in Virgil Abloh’s footsteps. While some might question the credentials of the multi-talented creative – best known to some people for his upbeat radio tunes – Williams is definitely not new to fashion.
For more than two decades, Williams – like Virgil Abloh – has combined music, pop culture and fashion in his work. The 49-year-old not only has 13 Grammys to call his own, but also a portfolio of brands – from fashion to cosmetics – and high-profile collaborations. Over the years, his paths have crossed again and again with his current employer LVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton.
Billionaire Boys Club
In 2003, Pharrell Williams and Japanese designer Nigo founded the streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club (BBC). The brand, which also owns the labels Ice Cream, Bee Line and the Billionaire Girls Club, is firmly rooted in music, Japanese streetwear, US pop culture and the skater scene and combines them with elements from space travel. One of the brand’s best-known emblems – an astronaut with a helmet – has not only adorned the BBC’s clothing since its inception, but also numerous collaborations. Over the past 20 years, the two streetwear gurus have collaborated with sports goods manufacturers Reebok and Adidas, the Japanese fashion brand Comme des Garçons, as well as with the animated series Pokémon and the New York Yankees baseball team.
In honor of Williams’ performances at Paris’ Zenith Arena in 2014, Colette, arguably the most famous concept store in the world at the time, also created a Billionaire Boys Club capsule. This was sold as part of Pharrell Week, an event at the Parisian store, alongside other collaborations by the artist, including specially created macarons from Parisian patisserie Ladurée.
BAPE
The collaboration between Nigo and Pharrell Williams extends beyond Billionaire Boys Club. It’s Pharrell who is often blamed for the popularity of Nigo’s streetwear brand BAPE beyond its home market of Japan, both as a big fan of the brand and as a collaborator. In 2006, Williams gave BAPE a makeover for the “Road Sta” sneaker. There were a total of three color variants of the sneaker, whose heel was adorned with a stylized comic face of the singer. The collaboration is still in great demand on the resale market today.
Louis Vuitton
Williams first became acquainted with Louis Vuitton in 2004. Once again he worked hand in hand with Nigo and designed a series of sunglasses that were dubbed “Millionaire”. While the original collection took place at Louis Vuitton under the creative direction of Marc Jacobs, it was Virgil Abloh who brought the “Millionaire” sunglasses back from the archive for his Louis Vuitton debut and christened them “1.1 Millionaires”.
Two years after the sunglass collection, Williams collaborated again with Louis Vuitton, this time alongside jewelry designer Camille Miceli. The campaign face for the resulting “Blason” collection was Williams himself, a role he would continue to fill for various fashion houses for years to come.
Uniqlo
Shortly after leaving streetwear label BAPE in November 2013, Nigo embraced a new role as creative director of Uniqlo’s UT line of t-shirts. One of his first official acts was a collaboration with his companion Pharrell Williams. The ‘I am other’ capsule for the Japanese fashion giant included men’s and women’s t-shirts in 14 colors and seven baseball caps emblazoned with slogans such as ‘Think Other’ and ‘The same is lame’. For both artists, working with Uniqlo was a first journey away from streetwear and luxury fashion.
Adidas
Pharrell has been working with Adidas since 2014. In the course of the partnership, the two collaboration partners have designed numerous sneaker models and helped classics from the Herzogenaurach sporting goods manufacturer, such as the Superstar sneaker, to shine again. Adidas also distributes the Williams-designed unisex clothing line Humanrace, which is known for high-quality basics.
Two years ago, the singing designer also launched a skincare line with the same name, which is managed independently. The artist’s extensive contacts and connections also helped Adidas land some high profile collaborators such as Nigo and also luxury fashion house Chanel.
chanels
Not many artists or fashion designers, regardless of their status in the industry, can count Chanel among their collaborators. Williams, however, has forged a unique relationship with the French brand as one of the brand’s few male ambassadors. He modeled alongside Cara Delevingne for the Pre-Fall 2015 collection before returning to the camera for the Gabrielle Bag campaign.
Williams and Karl Lagerfeld, who was still at the head of the fashion house at the time, took the first step towards a joint collection when they designed a limited edition sneaker for Adidas in 2017. Two years later, shortly after Lagerfeld’s death, came the “Chanel Pharrell” capsule, which remains unique to this day.
G Star
The partnership between Pharrell Williams and denim brand G-Star dates back to a sustainable project in 2014. The designer launched the “Raw for the Oceans” denim line using sustainable denim fabric made from recycled bottles before being awarded the title of the brand’s “Head of Imagination” and overseeing G-Star’s collections, campaigns and corporate strategy.
It was also announced at this time that Pharrell Williams was joining the Amsterdam brand as a co-owner to focus on the sustainable future of the brand. To what extent the creative is still part of the company today is unclear.
Moncler
Even before fashion fans get their first glimpse of William’s debut as creative director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, the designer is part of Moncler’s ‘Genius Project’ at London Fashion Week on February 20th. Williams has worked with Moncler since 2010 and has collaborated with the Italian luxury brand on various projects, including a reversible vest made from recyclable Bionic Yarn and a trio of sunglasses. In 2022, for Moncler’s 70th anniversary, the Williams brand invited seven other creatives to reinterpret the “Maya” down jacket model.
Will Louis Vuitton get engaged to Tiffany?
The rumor mill has been churning since Pharrell Williams sat in the front row of the Kenzo Show in January 2022 wearing a pair of specially made sunglasses from Tiffany & Co. “Tiffany and I are engaged,” the artist told industry magazine WWD at the time. He also added that the glasses are one of the many things he will be doing with Tiffany & Co. Now that he’s officially signed to Tiffany’s parent company LVMH, a collaboration seems more likely than ever, especially considering the US jeweler has just discovered his love for streetwear and has collaborated with Nike.