Full-time Polymath

With Pharrell Williams's debut as creative director of Louis Vuitton complete, the worlds of fashion and entertainment have finally melded.

- Max Berlinger

THE PONT NEUF is Paris's oldest bridge, dating back to the 16th century, and this summer, Louis Vuitton claimed it as its own. The brand decked the surface in a golden version of its signature checkerboard Damier motif and ferried some of the world's most starry people-LeBron, Rihanna, DiCaprio, Beyoncé-to the front row in a boat. A gospel choir's rousing benediction filled the air as models, including former Zegna designer Stefano Pilati and rapper Pusha T, sauntered down the runway illuminated by the warm mauve glow of a perfect Parisian sunset. The show closed with a surprise performance by Jay-Z. Vuitton had named Pharrell Williams as its newest men's creative director back in February, but it wasn't until this spectacle of extravagance that his arrival was well and truly announced.

It should be noted that there was plenty of navel-gazing and hand-wringing by the fashion press when the Williams news broke, but in a way, his appointment is simply the evolution of a narrative going back 100 years or more. Designers such as Chanel, Saint Laurent, Lagerfeld, Armani and Tom Ford all became celebrities in their own rights; Ralph Lauren, like Williams, was not a trained fashion designer in the traditional sense but managed to expand his mega-brand on the strength of his world-building vision and impeccable taste-a formidable talent shared by Louis Vuitton's new polymath creative. Really, what's the problem with flipping the script and starting with a global celebrity, especially one with Williams's bona fides?