PHARRELL WILLIAMS
BY EMMA ERION PHOTOS BY KITTY CRINO
Pharrell Williams is a household name. Whether it is because of his 2014 earworm “Happy,” his ‘90s hip-hop band N.E.R.D., or the sheer amount of pop hits he produced, nearly everyone has heard of him. However, his contributions to the music industry aren’t the only exemplary thing about him.
Williams made some of his most notable waves in the fashion world in 2014, donning his now-notorious “Big Hat” at the Grammys. It inspired memes, heaps of articles, and even a Twitter account dedicated to the garment. NPR journalist Linda Holmes said the hat was so “newsmaking” that Williams, “managed to not look pedestrian on stage with Daft Punk, and they wear helmets.”
Williams became the men’s creative director of Louis Vuitton following the death of Virgil Abloh in 2021, making him the second Black American designer to hold an executive position at Louis Vuitton. His latest collection for the fashion house debuted at Paris Fashion Week, and its Western theme made waves. Nearly every model donned a cowboy hat, which was no surprise considering Williams’ penchant for exciting headgear.
The Guardian reported that Williams wanted to showcase a different portrayal of cowboys, thus the runway sported a projected desert backdrop and all of the clothing had clear influences from a cowboy-type aesthetic.
“You never really get to see what some of the original cowboys looked like,” he told The Guardian at the time. “They looked like us. They looked like me. They were Black and were Native American.”
Williams’ time with Louis Vuitton is just beginning, and it is exciting to anticipate how he will tie his creativity and culture into future collections.
