We’re not in Kansas anymore! For Pharrell William’s sophomore collection for Louis Vuitton Men’s, the creative director taps into his global mentality and headed home — basing his Fall Winter 24 collection on the American Western classics.
Pharrell Williams is for the world, and there is no doubt about it. Here is a reminder, the lead-up to his third collection for Louis Vuitton Men’s (in his capacity as men’s creative director, no less) was devised upon a narrative of travel. To recap, the creative director first teased the overarching omniscience of Louis Vuitton in Paris with a debut staged on the Pont Neuf — one of the city’s most historical crossings. He then followed up with a slight deviation in route: by the house’s legitimate nautical direction for its Cruise 25 collection in Hong Kong.
One might argue that this internationality has — and always has been a code in the maison’s DNA — explorative practices rooted in a global understanding, which can be traced back to Marc Jacobs’ time at the house. However, when Pharrell presents a follow-up collection rooted in close-to-home geography again, it is hard to dismiss the trajectory being mapped out on his directional canvas.
The voyage — plainly mapped out — is a return to North America to perhaps reassert Pharrell’s origin story (VA represent!) or to sentimentally revisit the “home is where the heart is” dialogue. Or on a more probable note, it stands as a cultural identity-building exercise for Pharrell’s version of Louis Vuitton. If Spring Summer 24 was a blanket display of Pharrell’s propensities, Fall Winter 24 is more so Pharrell — making himself at home by imbuing a portion of his heritage into the house. So Louis Vuitton FW24 opened to show off just how far Pharrell would go on journeying in accordance with his global agenda — on a transatlantic voyage home, seeking out a homage to his homeground’s history.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that a pair of classically-cut, light-washed jeans would open the show — peeking beneath a well-tailored cream coat, standing tall above a pair of cow hair-coated shoes, and paired with an abundance of turquoise on a staple workwear shirt. It was centuries worth of American history, layered in a cohesive, declarative statement of cultural identity.
The collection is as cowboy-comprehensive as it gets. Americana-inspired hats, boots and chaps, a crossover with Timberland, and the classic workwear silhouettes within the collection all point to the laurels of traditional US culture that the sophomore collection is based upon. It is an assertion of identity, even if it is not a personal one for Pharrell or the standard American citizen. It is a story known around the world and is also an important part of American identity — which is why it works as a foundational piece in the building of Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton universe.
At times, the incline towards Americanism leans steeply. Authentic to the portion-size stereotypes of the US, Louis Vuitton matches this energy by serving up an insurmountable slice of the US of A. It is not just in the occasional cowboy hat or bolo tie. Graphic explorations of this itinerary to the West compound into a literal amalgamation of all-American culture. Dakota and Lakota Nations-inspired parfleche and flower motifs come in tandem with full-bleed cowboy and cacti illustrations. The new bovine-inspired Damier print joins the Damier-inspired Buffalo Check and intricately carved saddle leather in gracing key bags for the season. A hero of the collection materialises not in a specific shape or silhouette but instead in the sun-bleached Monogram and Damier-encased bags. It is a quiet testament and subtle presentation of the hard-at-work attitude innate within one’s pursuit of the American Dream. Counting the commercially viable trinkets — like the aforementioned cowboy hats, bolo ties or pearl-accented accessories — there is a lot to digest.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. The fact of the matter is that the American Western story was never confined to a standard playbook on ranch attire — defined in a singular arc — nor had its main heroes and heroines cast in stone. Pharrell is making it known that his global attitude extends beyond Louis Vuitton’s diverse spectrum of RTW and accessories, trickling down into the casting and the inclusivity in exploring different rites and rituals. If collections one and two were odes to home, the question remains: Where to next, Pharrell?
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