What is Vuitton looking for from Pharrell William?

On the Louis Vuitton's appointment of Pharrell Williams, ConCall would like to discuss the following two questions beyond the news facts:

1. Why does Louis Vuitton again choose designers of unconventional backgrounds to lead its menswear?
2. What makes Pharrell Williams stand out from other rumored emerging designers?

ConCall：

The appointment of Pharrell Williams indicates further that in the fashion business someone of solid fashion background is not necessarily always in the win. A fashion and pop-culture icon such as Pharrell Williams, who is a multi-talent for being a songwriter, music producer, as well as a part-time fashion designer meeting the brand’s values in the sweet spot, given a design team to support his creative vision in line with the brand under the pre-conditioned strategy, he can also outshine other candidates in the head of creative department tussle game.

A seemingly astonishing move, this appointment speaks the true vision Louis Vuitton has for the menswear department, which accounts for a small proportion of the brand’s revenue: considering the success after Virgil Abloh leading menswear to a streetwear leaning style, the house is bound to continue on this new legacy with a high-profile celebrity figure.

The streetwear takeover has changed the game in luxury fashion world. 

Pharrell Williams

Designers such as Virgil Abloh are not necessarily adept in the full process details of traditional fashion production, which begins from finding creative inspirations, drawing and patternmaking, fabric choosing, sample styling etc., but they know how to patch one up from what’s trendy at the moment in the looks of high fashion pieces, by simply copying and reorganizing different elements to make the design look easily consumable and appealing. 

This new wave has been questioned by many in the industry, who believe it is what will lead to the regression of fashion development. However undeniably, it is what keeps most brands alive under the ever-more evolving and competitive fashion business market – bringing consumers sense of novelty and satisfaction in a predicable way.

Anyone on the position needs to run a large creative department that the responsibility stretches from clothing to watch & jewelry, handbags and other leather goods. It is without a doubt a test for a designer's capability. Louis Vuitton menswear preaches a lifestyle that desired by the new generation of male consumers, which involves contemporary pop culture elements such as music, street fashion and social patterns of today. 

The womenswear business led by Nicolas Ghesquière helps Louis Vuitton maintain luxury attributes and identity, giving its classic leather goods the power to tell a high fashion story while propelling the elevation of its social class and image.

Running a large brand’s whole department with full range of categories, the importance of storytelling outweighs professional skills sometimes when a readily complete professional team is at the back of the support.

It is crucial for a creative director to translate the brand’s vision into an approachable lifestyle, just like Virgil Abloh and Demna, they have packaged that "lifestyle" and capitalized it into passionate desires and emotional resonance from the consumers, realizing it into commercial values.

What luxury brands need today is not just an envelope-pushing fashion designer, but a good storyteller. Fashion-design skills and talents may no longer be the priority that luxury companies seek, building a lifestyle that speaks about brands’ vision directly into consumers’ ears matters more on the success scale.