[Source: BBC]
Stars including Beyonce, Jay-Z and Rihanna watched as Pharrell Williams took over Paris Fashion Week in style.
The Get Lucky hitmaker-turned-designer made his debut as Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director on Tuesday evening.
He turned Pont Neuf, the city’s oldest bridge, into a celeb-filled, gold-carpeted and gospel-tinged disco.
[Source: BBC ]
It was the first show since the death of his predecessor, former Kanye West collaborator Virgil Abloh, widely seen as a pioneer in the industry.
In essence, the event – also attended by NBA star LeBron James, actress Zendaya, reality star Kim Kardashian and supermodel Naomi Campbell – was as much of a gig, a spectacle and a party as it was a fashion show.
Jay-Z played a concert on the bridge at the end of the night, with a joyful cameo from Pharrell himself on their collaborative tracks I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) and Frontin’.
A model shows off items from Pharrell’s spring/summer 2024 collection
Rihanna, meanwhile, began trending after she wore an outfit in the “camouflage print”, created by Pharrell for his forthcoming 2024 spring/summer range, which revealed her baby bump.
Williams, 50, told the AFP news agency before the show that he was conscious of the history behind the modern dominance of black culture.
“I think these corporations are waking up, slowly but surely, I think they’re understanding that we have flavour and that we have something really interesting to offer,” he said.
Louis Vuitton’s familiar check patterns and leather work featured heavily on the runway, as well as military-style camouflage
“Historically and factually, it’s been whitewashed [but] while that’s been tough on us historically, it’s kind of made it easy when it comes to taste because we bring such a striking juxtaposition.”
He added: “It’s striking when you see LeBron James wearing something, when you hear Jay-Z’s lyrics when you see and hear Beyonce, the energy and voice.”
The NERD and Neptunes singer, rapper and producer also paid tribute to Abloh, who died of cancer aged 41 in 2021.
“I collaborated with him on a couple of things,” said Williams. “Spiritually, his energy is very much still here.”
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