Pharrell Williams Succeeds Virgil Abloh As Louis Vuitton Menswear Creative Director

Topline

Hugely successful producer and singer Pharrell Williams will serve as the creative director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection, the luxury brand announced Tuesday, filling a role that has been vacant since 2021, and continuing an effort by Louis Vuitton in recent years to incorporate streetwear style and utilize celebrities.

Pharrell Williams will serve as Louis Vuitton’s menswear creative director.

Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Key Facts

Williams, who previously collaborated with the brand in 2004 and 2008, will introduce his first collection for Louis Vuitton in June at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris, Louis Vuitton announced.

Louis Vuitton notes Williams’ success as both a recording artist—having won 13 Grammy Awards—and non-profit work for YELLOW, an organization founded by Williams in 2019 that works for equity in public education, in its announcement.

Williams has designed apparel for Billionaire Boys Club and the skateboarding-inspired shoe brand Ice Cream since founding both labels in 2005.

Williams is the second prominent musician to partner with LVMH, Louis Vuitton’s parent company, after Rihanna was hired on to develop the luxury apparel line Fenty in 2019.

The hire complements an effort by Louis Vuitton to incorporate streetwear fashion into its brand, following a collaboration with the skateboarding label Supreme in 2017 and the hiring of Virgil Abloh, founder of the luxury streetwear brand Off-White, the following year.

Big Number

$21.4 billion. That’s how much revenue Louis Vuitton recorded in 2022, according to LVMH. This is the first time the brand has surpassed $20 billion in single-year revenue.

Surprising Fact

Williams is now the second Black American to be named the head designer of a European luxury fashion brand, according to the Wall Street Journal. Abloh, who held the position from 2018 until his death in 2021, was the first.

Forbes Valuation

Bernard Arnault, founder and chairman of LVMH, is the richest person in the world with a net worth of $213.7 billion, according to our estimates.

Key Background

Williams, a 13-time Grammy Award winner, is a record producer who first rose to prominence in the late 1990s as part of the hip-hop duo The Neptunes. He has credits on four songs that have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, including his song “Happy,” Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and Ludacris’ “Money Maker.” He is also a two-time Academy Award nominee, including for Best Original Song for “Happy” and for Best Picture as a producer of the 2017 film Hidden Figures. He later partnered with Japanese fashion designer Nigo—now the creative director of Kenzo, another brand owned by LVMH—to found the streetwear labels Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream. In 2004, Williams collaborated with Marc Jacobs, who was then the creative director for Louis Vuitton, on a line of sunglasses. He has since partnered and collaborated with other fashion and luxury brands, including Chanel, Moncler and Adidas, in addition to launching a skincare line, Humanrace.