Digging Deeper Into Pharrell Williams' Real Mission at Louis Vuitton Mens AOC Fashion

A fashion industry earthquake happened this week with the appointment of Pharrell Williams as Creative Director at Louis Vuitton Men’s, replacing his close friend Virgil Abloh who passsed in November 2021. The hip hop mogul, business entrepreneur, social activist with a high-volume voice on racial and gender-justice has drawn major criticism from fashion writers who argue that Pharrell’s lack of a formal design education indicates that all that matters to LVMH is his celebrity status.

Pharrell’s appointment gained momentum during the week, as the minor outrage of the fashion press chattering class took a back seat to top marketing, brand-building and consumer-centric experts weighing in.

I don’t mean to sound sassy, but knowing that Louis Vuitton doubled its volume from $10 billion to $20 billion in the last four years suggests that this executive team knows what it’s doing. I’m a maverick to the core and rarely silent on important topics.

But I do show respect to professionals who have just accomplished unimaginable results in business, results that defy logic. Before accusing them of being money-hungry Las Vegas strippers ready to trash the most valuable brand in the luxury world for a few bucks, I dig deeper.

Vogue Business issued a much better, balanced article last Monday : From Sabato to Pharrell: The role of creative director re-examined [Sorry it’s members only, and AOC can’t gift it.]

When it comes to creative directors, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy in play. That much is clear from the high-profile appointments of Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton men’s and Sabato De Sarno at Gucci.

For industry experts, the differences in the two appointments are fascinating to behold. “Behind the Gucci and Louis Vuitton recent nominations, there are two totally diverging options,” says Benjamin Simmenauer, professor at Institut Français de la Mode in Paris. “On the one hand, the designer with classic training. On the other hand, the view that there’s no limit to creativity — once you are creative, you can do anything, including fashion.”

Mary Gallagher, senior consultant at Find, executive consultancy for fashion, luxury and lifestyle brands, is exactly where AOC has been from day 1.

Quoted by Vogue Business, Gallagher approvingly hails the nomination of Williams as “a super appointment… Louis Vuitton has a plan to tap into an entire zeitgeist and culture. Albeit not a Gen Z himself, he has so much credibility with the younger generation.”