He must be “Happy.”
On Tuesday, Louis Vuitton announced that Pharrell Williams will serve as the next creative director of the brand’s menswear line, following in the footsteps of the late Virgil Abloh.
“Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome Pharrell Williams 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,” the brand wrote on Instagram and in a press release, confirming the news.
Continued the statement, “Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universes expand from music to art, and to fashion – establishing himself as a cultural global icon over the past twenty years. The way in which he breaks boundaries across the various worlds he explores, aligns with Louis Vuitton’s status as a Cultural Maison, reinforcing its values of innovation, pioneer spirit, and entrepreneurship.”
Abloh, who was beloved by the fashion industry as well as his friends in the music industry including Kanye West, Drake, Rihanna, Frank Ocean and more, died in November 2021 after a private battle with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. He was 41 years old.
Stars were devastated by the news, with Gigi and Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Naomi Campbell, Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian and more attending Abloh’s funeral in Chicago and Vuitton’s various fashion shows featuring his last designs in Miami and Paris.
As for Williams, the 49-year-old music producer is no stranger to the fashion industry.
He launched his own streetwear line, Billionaire Boys Club, in 2003 and has collaborated with an array of brands including Adidas, Chanel and Tiffany & Co.
Fittingly, he teamed up with Louis Vuitton in the early aughts, collaborating with then-designer Marc Jacobs on two accessories lines.