Jack of all trades

Pharrell Williams, the newly appointed creative director at Louis Vuitton, discusses his menswear debut and his direction for the brand.

- SHRIYA ZAMINDAR

The night Pharrell Williams staged his debut menswear show for Louis Vuitton, Paris was on standby. The roads were choked with traffic, possibly by the volume of high-flying A-list celebrities arriving in the French capital to witness Williams's vision unfold. No doubt, Louis Vuitton has shifted its stance from a maison tailoring sophisticated fantasies to a brand that is developing a cult for its streetwear-leaning clothing. The fact that Williams is a musician plays a key role in establishing this bridge between the luxury house and its close association with rap, R&B and streetwear.

Louis Vuitton echoes prominently in iconic rap songs, including hits like Kanye West's 'Last Call' and Travis Scott's 'High Fashion'. It seems that what Old Celine is for Philo-esques, Louis Vuitton is fast becoming for streetwear fanatics. At the show's after-party, Jay-Z performed a remix of the Punjabi hit 'Mundian To Bach Ke' by Panjabi MC, asking the question: will India fit into Louis Vuitton's new groove? Apart from the front-row audience that bobbed their heads to the beats, clips of the performance went viral, gaining the attention of Indian netizens taking pride in this cultural moment. The music acted as a catalyst for spectators to transform into fans and turn fans to enthusiasts, who marvelled at the repurposed version of Louis Vuitton's iconography, the Damier, and the 'Damouflage' that appeared like pixels on jackets and trousers. In an exclusive, Williams discusses the idea behind the new direction for the brand.

Shriya Zamindar: How did you approach your first collection and show for Louis Vuitton?