Luxury goods company LVMH's top label LouisVuitton said on Tuesday it has hired musician Pharrell Williams to headartistic direction of its menswear designs.
Abloh, iconic designer who previously held the role, died in 2021 from cancer
Thomson Reuters
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Luxury goods company LVMH's top label LouisVuitton said on Tuesday it has hired musician Pharrell Williams to headartistic direction of its menswear designs.
The decision sees the brandtapping a popularfigure from the music industry to fill the high-profile positionleft vacant since the passing of star designer Virgil Abloh overa year ago.
"Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome Pharrell as its new men's creative director," Louis Vuitton said in a tweet,confirming earlier reports from the Wall Street Journal and theFrench daily Le Figaro.
Williams's first collection for the label will be shownin June during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, the brand added.
Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome <a href="https://twitter.com/Pharrell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Pharrell</a> as its new Men’s Creative Director. His first collection for Louis Vuitton will be revealed next June during Men's Fashion Week in Paris. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LouisVuitton?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LouisVuitton</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PharrellWilliams?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PharrellWilliams</a> <a href="https://t.co/GRCQFfOAHK">pic.twitter.com/GRCQFfOAHK</a>
—@LouisVuittonWilliams rose to fame in the music business as a producerand singer with hits including Happyand Blurred Lines.Hehas won 13 Grammy awards and was a judge on the popular singingcompetition show The Voice.
Happy,written for the animated movie Despicable Me2,earned Williams one of his two Oscar nominations. His secondAcademy Award nod came as a producer of best picture nomineeHidden Figures.
Williams also has extensive experience in the fashionindustry. He played a role in the rise of streetwear,co-founding the label Billionaire Boys Club with Japanesedesigner Nigo in 2003, and launching collaborations with Adidasas well as luxury brands Moncler and Chanel.
Last year, Williams created buzz when he turned up forNigo's debut fashion show in Paris for LVMH-owned label Kenzowearing diamond-studded glasses made by Tiffany —another brandbelonging to LVMH.
The appointment marks the first move by Louis Vuitton'snewly appointed CEO,Pietro Beccari.
"Williams is a significant hire, needed to fill the bigboots left by Virgil Abloh," said analysts at Credit Suisse,noting that the "major move" by the new CEO suggests the brand'slinks with pop culture and music will continue.
Abloh, who diedin November 2021, was fashion'shighest-profile Black designer and symbolized the fusion ofstreetwear with high-end fashion, mixing influences likegraffiti art and skateboard culture into his styles.
The label's design studios have since drawn on Abloh'sdesigns, bringing in performers ranging from Florida's Marching 100 band and Spanish singer Rosalíato energize catwalk shows.
