Pharrell became Men’s Head Designer at Louis Vuitton earlier this year – and it’s something he never imagined he would have the privilege of doing.
The multi-hyphenate spoke with GQ for a piece published on Tuesday (August 15), where he reflected on taking over at the iconic luxury brand. The position was left open by the late Virgil Abloh, and Pharrell never thought he’d be the one the company would ask to fill it.
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“It wasn’t an interview or anything,” Pharrell said of the conversation with Louis Vuitton CEO Pietro Beccari. “It was like, ‘Will you accept this position? Will you accept this appointment?’ I’m looking at the water and I’m just like, ‘What?’”
Ultimately, Pharrell thought the role would be given to his longtime friend and collaborator Nigo, who currently heads LVMH brand Kenzo.
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“He’s my hero, he’s my brother, and he’s the general,” he said of Nigo. “I’ve been championing him for a minute. And whenever me and Alexandre [Arnault] talk about LV, we would always just talk about different people. I’ve always been in the background, just advising. I never thought that it would be me.”
Last month, pictures surfaced on social media of Pharrell, Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free linking up so the Los Angeles rapper could check out the coveted Louis Vuitton “Millionaire Speedy” bag. The pricey bag was first unveiled in June.
“Every part on the bag is [gold]. This is different. This is called the Millionaire. It comes with millionaires,” P flaunted.
The Neptunes producer continued: “Every bit of the bag is gold like the zipper, the teeth on the zipper is gold, all the hardware, every rivet. This is gold. Obviously diamonds. This chain is real. It has a real strap but you know — so be it, so be it.”
The LV Speedy bag was a standout from Pharrell’s first collection with the company, which he debuted at Paris Fashion Week in front of a star-studded audience in June.
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According to a previous Louis Vuitton press release, Pharrell’s designer bag is intended to “[conjure] the attitude and hustle mentality of Canal Street in an everyday icon conceived for every walk of life.”
Pharrell’s other LV designs come in an array of rainbow colors across the spectrum, including red, green, orange and blue. Rihanna debuted the monogrammed bags during a previous fashion show when her pregnant belly was flanked by the bags for a Louis Vuitton billboard in Paris.
