February 23, 2023
Pharrell Williams performing at the Glastonbury Festival, June 2015 – Photo: Getty Images/DFPPhotographic
Should Pharrell Williams be the one to guide Louis Vuitton’s men’s business?
In a win for hype over design experience, Louis Vuitton last week placed 13-time Grammy-award winner Pharrell Williams in charge of its menswear line.
The American rapper and music producer has no design training but is known for his influence on streetwear and sneaker culture, having co-founded the streetwear label Billionaire Boys Club and collaborated with Nike, Adidas, Chanel and others.
Celebrity creative collaborations with Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé and Ye (formerly Kanye West) are among those that have faltered, but Williams’ appointment reflects the continuing intermingling of fashion and entertainment. The success of runways is increasingly defined by their ability to go viral.
Mr. Williams is also expected to build on Vuitton’s positioning as a “cultural” brand elevated by his late predecessor, Virgil Abloh, whom WWD said is “widely credited with redefining the role of creative director into something closer to a curator.”
Traditionalists saw Mr. Williams’ hiring as another sign of fashion’s increasing infatuation with celebrity.
“The shift has taken a bit of the magic out of fashion,” wrote Robin Givhan, senior critic-at-large for The Washington Post. “It has removed any pretense of intimacy and limited personal expression. It’s all about product and messaging.”
“Don’t get me wrong — Pharrell’s definitely creative,” Cozette McCreery, a fashion consultant and mentor for many emerging brands, told the Financial Times. “He will have the best team and I’ve no doubt that the collections will sell. I just personally find it a shame that pop celebrity is what gets you the job, not years of learning within colleges or on the job.”
Speaking to Vogue Business, menswear consultant and designer Joseph Keefer said he suspects the appointment will help make Louis Vuitton “loud, exciting and talked about” but also shared concerns around nurturing up-and-coming design talent.
He said, “It seems like we’re going to continue to lose the weight of that role as fashion designer; creative directors will continue to become more of a marketing role in certain houses, it feels. While that is a shame and a hard pill to swallow, it’s the evolution of the business.”
- Louis Vuitton appoints Pharrell Williams as its new Men’s Creative Director – LVMH
- Pharrell Williams Is Louis Vuitton’s Next Men’s Designer – The New York Times
- Louis Vuitton Names Pharrell Williams Men’s Creative Director – WWD
- Pharrell Williams, the future of fashion? – Financial Times
- Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams and the loss of fashion magic – The Washington Post
- Pharrell at Vuitton: Has fashion gone full hype? – Vogue Business
- Louis Vuitton Names Pharrell Williams Menswear Designer – Bloomberg
BrainTrust
David Spear
President, Retail, OrderlyMeds
Georganne Bender
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
Lucille DeHart
Principal, MKT Marketing Services/Columbus Consulting
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Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Is the appointment of Pharrell Williams as men’s creative director more of a positive or negative for Louis Vuitton? Do you see fashion’s creative directors becoming curators foremost over designers and is that a healthy trend for couture?
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This might seem like an odd choice, but Williams does have a longstanding history with the fashion world. He launched the Billionaire Boys Club streetwear brand and has collaborated with big brands like Chanel, Moncler and even Louis Vuitton itself. He certainly brings some star power and his focus on streetwear may help appeal to more Gen Z customers. However he has big shoes to fill as Virgil Abloh radically transformed the menswear division through his innovative vision of luxury. This is one to watch!
I think this continued reliance on celebrity and the false assumption that because they have fame, they also have industry specific talent is disrespectful to those who have developed their skills. While there is room for curated lines, let’s leave the designing and marketing to the professionals who know the brand and respect their long-term base. Perhaps we can flip the trend and have fashion talent start to write music and sing.
Flipping the trend is a great point!
So many things. The loss of true creative directors and designers, infatuation with celebrity. Making Louis Vuitton loud. That’s a lot. But if LV had to choose a celebrity Pharrell Williams is a good one. What’s the worst thing he’s done that’s been newsworthy? Blurred Lines?
Personally, I am over celebrities. Whatever they endorse doesn’t make a difference in the brands I choose. And sometimes they turn me away.
When the traditional LV customer sees an “LV” on a Williams-curated design, will they choose to scrub their closets of LV?
I wonder if the traditional Louis Vuitton customer buys the novelty stuff the designer does. Some of it is pretty out there.
Among numerous upscale brands, LV is synonymous with luxury, exclusivity, and high quality, which create high demand for its products. Does Pharrell Williams shout that mantra? Without the “LV” meaning, is LV really LV meaningful?
Is it possible to be streetwear and luxury at the same time if you aren’t walking on the Red Carpet?
No disrespect to Mr. Williams because he is extremely talented and his music is great, but I’m with Lucille DeHart on this one and believe the prospects of design are better aligned with long-term industry experts who have honed their trade for decades. I’m sure LV will get an initial pop with Mr. Williams at the design helm, but how long does he stay 100 percent engaged in the brand and company with all of his other side businesses and interests?
For a fascinating view of the fashion design calling — and the critical need to have an “eye” for the end product — see the film “Phantom Thread” from a few years ago. Does Pharrell Williams have the eye, taste level and technical skill to oversee a major men’s design brand like Louis Vuitton, or is he simply a figurehead based on his celebrity status? It’s a hard question to answer just yet.
The appointment is a sign of the times. Messaging trumps substance. It is healthy from a business perspective but some of the “magic” will be lost — however, how many people actually wear what is shown on the runway?
This is a tricky one. Curation and marketing is not design. It all happens on a continuum but in my book, at the LV level, it starts with design, with a strong eye on the curation and marketing to follow. Yes, it gets blurry. But if Pharrell is curation and marketing, who is design? And I’m not knocking Pharrell — the guy is great. I’m trying to applaud some evolved out-of-the-box thinking and hoping the raw design talent that is doing the ground level development gets the credit that will be due.
I think it’s a great, and natural choice! Williams is an icon in his own right, and has worked with a variety of high-fashion brands in the past, including LVMH. And he was a friend of Virgil Abloh, who held the post before his early death.
Traditionally, the designer becomes a celebrity through its work with the fashion brand, now the approach is to have celebrities in the media/entertainment field who hve launched fashion brands as a “creative director” without calling them “designer.” I wonder how it affects the future of designer careers and their path. It is like churning out multiple “limited editions” — at a certain point, you risk losing the brand identity.
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This might seem like an odd choice, but Williams does have a longstanding history with the fashion world. He launched the Billionaire Boys Club streetwear brand and has collaborated with big brands like Chanel, Moncler and even Louis Vuitton itself. He certainly brings some star power and his focus on streetwear may help appeal to more Gen Z customers. However he has big shoes to fill as Virgil Abloh radically transformed the menswear division through his innovative vision of luxury. This is one to watch!
I think this continued reliance on celebrity and the false assumption that because they have fame, they also have industry specific talent is disrespectful to those who have developed their skills. While there is room for curated lines, let’s leave the designing and marketing to the professionals who know the brand and respect their long-term base. Perhaps we can flip the trend and have fashion talent start to write music and sing.
Flipping the trend is a great point!
So many things. The loss of true creative directors and designers, infatuation with celebrity. Making Louis Vuitton loud. That’s a lot. But if LV had to choose a celebrity Pharrell Williams is a good one. What’s the worst thing he’s done that’s been newsworthy? Blurred Lines?
Personally, I am over celebrities. Whatever they endorse doesn’t make a difference in the brands I choose. And sometimes they turn me away.
When the traditional LV customer sees an “LV” on a Williams-curated design, will they choose to scrub their closets of LV?
I wonder if the traditional Louis Vuitton customer buys the novelty stuff the designer does. Some of it is pretty out there.
Among numerous upscale brands, LV is synonymous with luxury, exclusivity, and high quality, which create high demand for its products. Does Pharrell Williams shout that mantra? Without the “LV” meaning, is LV really LV meaningful?
Is it possible to be streetwear and luxury at the same time if you aren’t walking on the Red Carpet?
No disrespect to Mr. Williams because he is extremely talented and his music is great, but I’m with Lucille DeHart on this one and believe the prospects of design are better aligned with long-term industry experts who have honed their trade for decades. I’m sure LV will get an initial pop with Mr. Williams at the design helm, but how long does he stay 100 percent engaged in the brand and company with all of his other side businesses and interests?
For a fascinating view of the fashion design calling — and the critical need to have an “eye” for the end product — see the film “Phantom Thread” from a few years ago. Does Pharrell Williams have the eye, taste level and technical skill to oversee a major men’s design brand like Louis Vuitton, or is he simply a figurehead based on his celebrity status? It’s a hard question to answer just yet.
The appointment is a sign of the times. Messaging trumps substance. It is healthy from a business perspective but some of the “magic” will be lost — however, how many people actually wear what is shown on the runway?
This is a tricky one. Curation and marketing is not design. It all happens on a continuum but in my book, at the LV level, it starts with design, with a strong eye on the curation and marketing to follow. Yes, it gets blurry. But if Pharrell is curation and marketing, who is design? And I’m not knocking Pharrell — the guy is great. I’m trying to applaud some evolved out-of-the-box thinking and hoping the raw design talent that is doing the ground level development gets the credit that will be due.
I think it’s a great, and natural choice! Williams is an icon in his own right, and has worked with a variety of high-fashion brands in the past, including LVMH. And he was a friend of Virgil Abloh, who held the post before his early death.
Traditionally, the designer becomes a celebrity through its work with the fashion brand, now the approach is to have celebrities in the media/entertainment field who hve launched fashion brands as a “creative director” without calling them “designer.” I wonder how it affects the future of designer careers and their path. It is like churning out multiple “limited editions” — at a certain point, you risk losing the brand identity.