Luis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Virginia’s own Pharrell Williams debuted his collection at Louis Vuitton while in Paris this past summer only two years after we lost Virgil Abloh, the former head of men’s fashion and founder of Off-White.

For many fashion enthusiasts, when you hear the name Pharrell, your first thought is probably Billionaire Boys Club, Chanel, and Human Made. For those who are not fashion enthusiasts, you might just be a fan of his music. Nevertheless, few would have thought that Pharrell was going to be the head of menswear at Louis Vuitton.

I asked some other teen fashion enthusiasts – KJ Rogers and Chandler Johnson – what they thought of the collection and Pharell’s selection. 

“Because of Pharrell’s history clothing wise, he has some reasonable fits, and I feel like he knows a lot about fashion more than other people,” Johnson stated.

Rogers was in agreement with Chandler. Both consider him very experienced in the industry. 

“Pharell was a good pick,” Johnson concluded. “I just feel like people don’t think he’s a good pick because I guess he [is] not as relevant as much like he used to be.”

Since his initial debut, Pharrell’s choices have been the subject of scrutiny. Just this past week, his Millionaire Speedy bag became the subject of controversy. 

PETA senior VP Lisa Lange sent Pharrell an open letter, claiming““… we aren’t happy to note your newest design, the ‘Millionaire’ Speedy bag,… is crafted from crocodile skin, because when it comes to animals being used for fashion, it isn’t beautiful—it’s abuse.”

From a purely fashion standpoint, the bag stands out. It features crocodile leather and 24 karat gold hardware all throughout the bag. Not only does it have a million dollar price tag, it can only be made to order at Louis Vuitton stores for certain people. 

This is not the first time (nor will it be the last) that a fashion director created extremely exclusive and pricey products. I think that this is good thing due to the fact that this is going to not only bring attention to Pharrell and open more opportunities for other creators down the road. 

Love it or hate it, good fashion brands will always spark controversy, and Pharell has proved up to the task.