Hip-hop singer Pharrell Williams has been named the new head of menswear at luxury fashion powerhouse Louis Vuitton, the company announced on Tuesday.
“Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome Pharrell as its new Men’s Creative Director with immediate effect,” the storied brand said in a statement.
Williams fills the spot left vacant since the death of Virgil Abloh from cancer in November 2021.
The 49-year-old is an established superstar in the music world, with 13 Grammys and two Oscar nominations, and has been a fixture in the front row of fashion shows for years.
“Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universe spans from music to art to fashion — establishing himself as a universal cultural icon over the past 20 years,” said the fashion house, part of the LVMH luxury conglomerate.
His first collection for Louis Vuitton will be presented in June during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris, it added.
“I’m delighted to see Pharrell come back to the house as the new creative director for men, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton,” said the fashion house’s chief executive, Pietro Beccari.
“His creative vision beyond fashion will without a doubt lead Louis Vuitton towards a new, very exciting chapter,” he said.
Louis Vuitton’s sales have soared since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the company now worth more than $20 billion — helping to turn the owner of its parent company LVMH, Bernard Arnault, into the world’s richest person.
