For Louis Vuitton FW24, Pharrell Williams Brings Western Dress to Paris
Some things just work.
The Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2024 collection, presented on Tuesday evening at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, is one of those things.
For a brand rooted in travel and currently helmed by an American, a collection entitled Paris Virginia was incredibly apt. While Pharrell hails from the state on the eastern seaboard, the collection itself had very little to do with Virginia — or the east, for that matter. Instead, the producer-turned-creative director and general man-of-good-taste offered up a collection that drew from the country’s southwest and the classic American Western wardrobe.
On hand to witness a collection drawn from such a specific place — and time, too — were guests from around the globe: press and clients, but also athletes, musicians, actors, artists and other designers, among them Bradley Cooper, LaKeith Stanfield, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Thibaut Courtois, Warren Zaire-Emery, Taylor Zakhar Perez, Karli Kloss, Swae Lee, and Pharrell’s good friend Nigo, who is creative director of Kenzo. The hundreds of guests were sat across an expansive, clay-coloured set, which featured a projection of a classic southwest landscape.
Louis Vuitton FW24
Bradley Cooper
Louis Vuitton FW24
Mumford & Sons
Louis Vuitton FW24
Jackson Wang
Louis Vuitton FW24
LaKeith Stanfield
Louis Vuitton FW24
Quavo
Louis Vuitton FW24
Will Poulter
Louis Vuitton FW24
Karlie Kloss
Louis Vuitton FW24
Swae Lee
Louis Vuitton FW24
Lil Yachty
Louis Vuitton FW24
Maggie Rogers
Louis Vuitton FW24
Taylor Zakhar Perez
There’s no point burying the lede or mincing words here: this was an incredibly strong collection. It was arguably better than Pharrell’s debut — though, seeing some guests wearing pieces from that, in person, to the show, made it look even better six months later. The Fall/Winter 2024 collection revisits workwear staples and the icons of American Western dress with Louis Vuitton’s savoir-faire. The references were familiar and approachable: cowboy boots, jeans and jean jackets, work jackets, blanket coats, western shirts, long belts and even chaps! These were, of course, finished with incredible attention to detail in the form of genuine turquoise and other gems, meticulous embroidery and hand painting in the North Dakota studio of Dee Jay Two Bears.
The cleverest detail was reimagining the Damier pattern as a red and black buffalo check, across a series of shirts, jackets and luggage — it is at once such an obvious play on the maison’s famous pattern and, yet, as it came down the runway, it struck one as a stroke of genius.
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Pharrell has proven to be something of a bag-whisperer in his first two collections. While the hand-painted Keepalls will get most of the attention, the natural leather version which features silver rivet hardware, best encapsulated what made this collection so noteworthy: it was eminently wearable. The choice of using natural leather, which is designed to age beautifully and develop a patina through wear, speaks to Pharrell’s desire to have people wear this collection for years — and not just the season — to come. Myriad other pieces, like the long yellow coat that was shown with the aforementioned bag and much of the knitwear have that timeless, easy-to-wear quality to them.
As a producer Pharrell’s superpower has been his ability to collaborate and bring people together. Not only did Pharrell enlist Dee Jay Two Bears, but he teased a collaboration with Timberland on a series of work boots — a staple of the modern American workwear wardrobe. There was also a prelude, directed by Bafic, of Ron Husband sketching his vision of the first cowboy, which served as an inspiration for the collection. Most important of all, though, was the collaboration with artists and artisans from the Lakota and Dakota nations, including those from the Native Voices of Resistance who performed The Spirit of Saturday Night, which was composed by Lakota “Hokie” Clairmont and Pharrell and opened the show.
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
Louis Vuitton FW24
After the show, guests munched on barbecue food — fried chicken, steak, pulled pork sliders, corn — while waiting for a performance by Mumford & Sons (who also composed a song with Pharrell that was played during the show). Despite the food and the star-studded guest list and the live performance, this show felt less of a party than the last one. This wasn’t Pharrell’s first rodeo.
