Why did Louis Vuitton choose the Happy-fame singer as its creative director?
Louis Vuitton's decision to bring on Pharrell Williams as the creative director for men's fashion was due to the untimely passing of Virgil Abloh.
He didn’t apply for the job — he was chosen.
But Pharrell isn't a typical fashion frontrunner, so why would a billion dollar company choose him?
Louis Vuitton has a history of selecting leaders with unconventional backgrounds.
Abloh was a civil engineer and architect before his fashion career, and Pharrell is a celebrated musician.
Lesser known facts 👇
⚡️ He co-founded the Billionaire Boys Club, and has worked with luxury brands like Chanel & Tiffany
⚡️ His relationship with Louis Vuitton began long ago when he designed the Millionaire sunglasses for Marc Jacobs' Louis Vuitton spring-summer 2005 collection.
He’s a prominent figure in hip-hop, a culture that strongly influences fashion across nations.
If you need proof of Pharrell's style, just watch the "Happy" video again. His outfit changes are on point every time.
Vogue calls Pharrell a “multi-hyphenate”
Someone who’s neither a specialist or a generalist but a neo-generalist—someone who excels in multiple fields and brings innovative ideas by merging different domains.
Today's world requires navigating uncertainties via experimenting, which is exactly what Pharrell excels at.
His best-known musical hit is the song “Happy,” which he wrote for the movie Despicable Me 2.
He didn’t get it right initially, he said “nine songs in, they were like ‘this isn’t right, this doesn’t work’, so I’m bummed out … my ego is shot … but we get to the tenth one and at that point I had nothing else, fortunately, the tenth worked”
Williams admitted that while he wrote the song, it was the thousands of collaborators who made the song such a success.
His dedication to ensure it’s a collaborative effort is commendable –— which is exactly what all companies need in their leaders. Someone to take the team along in the journey of success.
Pharrell is:
✨ both an outsider and insider
✨ neo-generalist
✨ experimenter
✨ community builder
These align perfectly with Louis Vuitton’s values of innovation, pioneering spirit, and entrepreneurship, making him an ideal choice to bring these aspirations to life.
