Pharrell Williams has recalled being appointed the men’s creative director of Louis Vuitton.
During a recent interview with GQ, the style icon admitted that he never expected to be asked to fill the role that was left vacant after iconic designer Virgil Abloh passed away in November 2021.
According to the outlet, the 50-year-old revealed that executives at the luxury fashion brand first broached the subject of the job out of the blue while he was in his studio in Miami Beach in December 2022.
“It wasn’t an interview or anything,” the “Happy” hitmaker said of his 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?'”
Pharrell told GQ that he had been involved in conversations with the Louis Vuitton team about who might take over from Virgil and he even offered names, including Alexandre Arnault, son of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) founder Bernard Arnault.
The star, who has had a relationship with Louis Vuitton for almost 20 years, had expected the position to go to his longtime friend Nigo, who is the creative director of Kenzo.
“He’s my hero, he’s my brother, and he’s the general,” Pharrell said. “I’ve been championing him for a minute. And whenever me and Alexandre 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.”
Louis Vuitton announced that the musician would be taking on the position of men’s creative director on February 14. He debuted his first collection in June during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.
