Pharrell Williams named as LVMH’s next menswear designer

The Future. Louis Vuitton has hired Pharrell Williams to succeed Virgil Abloh as creative director of the brand’s menswear department. The appointment — which capitalizes on Williams’ celebrity as a musician — is a departure from typical industry practices, and might bring celebrities further into the fold of fashion companies if it’s successful.

Deets of the duds
While Williams is a nontraditional candidate for the role, he still has a long history with the fashion industry.

• In the past 20 years, Williams has collaborated with many designers and brands, including Nigo, Diesel, CHANEL, Moncler, and adidas, with whom he has a co-branded line of shoes and clothing.

• Williams also collaborated with LV back in the early aughts, and he was close friends with Abloh.

• In November, he launched Joopiter, a platform where fans could buy pieces from his personal collection.

• Williams received the CFDA Fashion Icon Award in 2015.

Pharrell’s first collection of designs will be showcased this June.

Major come ups
LVMH (Louis Vuitton’s parent company) recently hit a growth spurt and snagged the largest stock market valuation in Europe, doubling its 2018 $10 billion valuation in just four years to become the largest luxury brand in the world.

Another recent trend: LVMH has partnered more often with major musicians, including Rihanna. It’s hard to say whether these musicians are directly responsible for LVMH’s success, but whatever they’re doing, they should probably keep doing it.