Pharrell Williams has been named the new creative director of menswear for Louis Vuitton, taking over the role that Virgil Abloh held for three years before his death.
The luxury brand confirmed the news, saying that Williams’ first collection will be shown at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris in June.
The job has been vacant since Abloh’s unexpected death at age 41 in November 2021. Abloh, who took on the role in 2018, did not reveal publicly that he had been privately living with cancer during much of his tenure with Louis Vuitton.
In a statement, Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s chairman and CEO, said that he was glad to welcome Pharrell back home. Williams previously worked with Louis Vuitton in 2008, collaborating on lines of sunglasses and jewelry.
Beccari continued, His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.
“I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Men’s Creative Director,” Pietro Beccari, LV’s CEO, said in a statement. “His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.”
The Wall Street Journal said that the move will see Pharrell assuming the position formerly occupied by the late Virgil Abloh, citing “people familiar with” the matter. The only further information provided in Tuesday’s post was that LV and Pharrell were currently discussing the potential appointment.
Abloh was appointed artistic director of LV’s menswear division in March 2018, and the following June, he held his first show in Paris in that capacity. At the time, Abloh described accepting the post as “an honor,” which saw the multidimensional creative force go down in history.
Abloh battled cardiac angiosarcoma for two years before passing away in November 2021 at the age of 41. The loss was startling, and Abloh’s passing was lamented not only by colleagues and admirers in the fashion industry but also by those in all other artistic fields.
Of course, Pharrell has a sizable fashion presence of his own. He discussed the Moncler Maya 70, which at the time was his most recent joint project, in an interview with Complex’s Mike DeStefano in November of last year. A query concerning the present state of fashion and potential future directions was asked to end the interview. Pharrell gave a characteristically optimistic and forward-looking perspective of both the fashion industry as a whole and his own creative process.