Louis Vuitton Menswear Has a New Creative Director - Pharrell!

The death of Virgil Abloh, founder of Off-White and creative director of menswear for Louis Vuitton, in 2021 left a huge void in the fashion industry. After his passing, the obvious questions became who would replace him and when. As there is a hierarchy in fashion (like most other things), this role was considered the biggest job opening in the industry. The question of who would have the experience and gravitas to follow an act like Abloh truly left heads scratching. In recent years major fashion houses have had the tendency to almost pass around creative directors - Ricardo Tisci went from Givenchy to Burberry; when Tisci left Burberry Daniel Lee took his job after a stint at Bottega Veneta, you get my point. Despite this pattern, I personally did not feel like it would be the route Vuitton would go, although after waiting for 14+ months with no signs of a replacement I was unsure of the route they would take in general. So when it was announced that Pharrell Williams (my fellow Virginia Beach, VA native) would be Vuitton's new menswear creative director, I was (happily) shocked. While I was not expecting this AT ALL, the more I thought about it the more I recognized the genius of this decision, and here is why:

(Thumbnail Photo: Complex/Pharrell Williams/Louis Vuitton)

Name Recognition

Following Virgil would/will be a huge feat for anyone. While the late 90's and early 2000s were years of the superstar designer (Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford and Donatella Versace were/are household names), the creative heads of many of todays big fashion houses are largely unknown outside of spaces associated with the fashion industry. Appointing a successor who has instant name recognition and who also garners a certain level of respect in and outside of the fashion industry definitely works in Louis Vuitton (and Pharrell's) favor. While an unknown or lesser known designer would have A LOT to prove, the question around Pharrell is more what is he going to do in his new role vs. does he have the ability to do it.

If It Ain't Broke...

Virgil Abloh's Louis Vuitton SOLD. While Louis Vuitton never had an issue pushing products, Virgil took Vuitton menswear to another stratosphere and it became one of the most important menswear lines in the world. Unlike other brands that have no problem firing creative directors whose clothing is showing signs of losing money (Alessandro Michele's recent exit from Gucci for example), it did not seem like LV had any plans of letting Virgil go before his passing and thus was probably looking for a successor who leaned more toward his aesthetic than not. Hiring a designer like Raf Simons or the Olsen Sisters of The Row wouldn't make much sense, and while Pharrell will undoubtedly put his own stamp on the brand, his vibe is not exceptionally different from Abloh's which will more than likely benefit Vuitton from a business perspective.

Fashion's Diversity Problem

While more designers of color have emerged since the murder of George Floyd, the number is still very small. Even smaller are the number of Black people at the helm of larger luxury brands like Louis Vuitton; Virgil was one of the few people of color in his position. As such, replacing him with a white male would frankly have been a bad look optically, especially since the creative director of LV's womenswear collections is white and male. By replacing Virgil with another Black man, the brand can more believably express its commitment to diversity and inclusion and can continue to maintain its position as one of the only heritage fashion houses with a Black person (or person of color) in a creative director role.

The Man is Actually Qualified for the Job

While people mainly know Pharrell for his music career, his resume is also deeply rooted in fashion as well. Not only did he co-found streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club with collaborator Nigo in 2005 (which, unlike other celebrity-founded fashion lines is still in operation), he has had collaborations with major fashion brands such as Adidas and Moncler. He was also a student of Karl Lagerfeld before his passing and because of this has had a long-standing partnership with the ultimate French luxury house, Chanel. As such Pharrell understands not only how to design a product, but how to market and sell one as well. He gets both the business and creative sides of fashion which is hugely important for someone taking this level of role at a major fashion house like Louis Vuitton.