Beyoncé, Rihanna, Song Joong-ki, GOT7's BamBam, Jackson Wang And All The Stars At Pharrell's Louis Vuitton Debut

Paris is Pharrell's world - and we're all just living in it.

By Gloria Tso - published 22 Jun 2023

In both cultural and economic holding power, Louis Vuitton comes out on top, a sentiment which seemed all but confirmed with the announcement of Pharrell Williams as creative director for menswear back in February. Putting a year and a half worth's of rumours over who would inherit Virgil Abloh's highly-coveted spot to rest, Williams' appointment sparked further speculation about what this news would mean for fashion - speculation which only grew stronger with time. And after months of whispering and waiting, under the firm financial backing of luxury goods behemoth LVMH, the 50-year-old multi-hyphenate kicked off Paris Men's Fashion Week this season in classic Pharrell fashion (a takeover cutely dubbed 'Pharis' by Style Not Com), staging a star-studded show on the Pont Neuf bridge which could only be rivalled in celebrity power by the Met Gala or the Academy Awards.

Far from cracking under the pressure, Williams - no stranger to the intensity of being a creative in the public eye - took all of the speculation over his appointment in stride. Heavily influenced by his love affair with street style - consider his long-standing relationship with Kenzo's creative director, Nigo, or his previous partnership with sportswear giant Adidas - Williams is a grandmaster of the digital age, who knows how to use the tools of social media and the product 'drop' cycle intrinsic to streetwear culture to his advantage. Blockbuster celebrity-driven campaign drop just days before the show? Check. A cleverly-executed media push unveiled at the eleventh hour? Check. It's all quite the flex for Williams, whose legion of celebrity friends and collaborators sat front row to witness his debut collection Tuesday night, bringing the attention away from the man of the moment himself.

And that's exactly how Williams wants it to be, reminding us all that this is the same old guy who has pulled so many of the strings shaping today's cultural landscape as we know it. What the award-winning rapper, record producer and now head of a luxury fashion house lacks in personal bravado, he more than makes up for in cultural impact. That ethos very much informed the clothes which went down the runway, too, many of which looked like they could've been plucked from the star's own personal closet.

Aptly titled "LVERS," Williams put the spotlight on LV's iconic Damier chessboard print, meshing it with the house's historic monogram, resulting in a pixelated, playful aesthetic portrayed across the collection. Varsity jackets and stylish trunk cases signified Williams' ever-youthful touch. And while the celebrity-turned-creative-director trope still has fashion insiders divided, Williams himself doesn't seem to pay them any mind. If fashion is culture and culture is content, injecting new life into an old industry isn't necessarily a bad thing. Who else could perform their own chart-topping hits live from their own after-party?

After all, it takes a special someone to get Beyoncé and Rihanna (plus their famous partners, Jay-Z and A$AP Rocky) in the same space these days. Among the countless other celebrity sightings: another celebrity couple, GOT7's BamBam and Jackson Wang; Gen Z It girl, Zendaya; Korean heartthrob Song Joong-ki; the one and only Kim Kardashian; and NCT 127's Yuta Nakamoto.