PARIS – Expanding his creative community of LVers, Pharrell Williams has invited Tyler, the Creator to design a capsule collection for Louis Vuitton, marking his first stand-alone collaboration as the French luxury brand’s creative director of menswear.
Drawing on their shared colorful aesthetic, the line of clothing and accessories features Tyler’s hand-drawn take on the house’s famed monogram motif, dubbed the Craggy Monogram.
It appears on everything from a grass-effect fleece jacket to collectible items like a cereal bowl, as well as a special edition Courrier Lozine 110 trunk, which at 68,000 euros is the most expensive piece in the collection and reflects Tyler’s well-documented love of trunks. Accessories start at 210 euros for a silk pocket square.
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A style icon in his own right, the rapper runs his own streetwear brand, Golf Wang, and its high-end offshoot, Golf le Fleur. He has prior links with Vuitton, having scored the runway show for its fall 2022 collection, the last designed by the late Virgil Abloh.
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“Tyler has been my close friend and collaborator for years. I admire his eye and we’ve always connected on music, fashion and jewelry. He doesn’t shy away from doing something interesting and different,” Williams told WWD in an interview conducted via email.
“Tyler already had a strong relationship with the maison when Virgil was here, and this spring collection intentionally builds on this and strengthens our LVers community of incredible minds and artists who understand our vision and appreciate the history and Virgil’s impact like Tyler does,” he remarked.
Vuitton described the line, set to hit stores on March 21, as “an instinctive union” between Tyler’s “signature preppy sophistication” and the “elegant dandy dressing” that Williams has established since joining the house last year.
“Everything that Tyler does is thoughtful and authentic. We’ve done something completely new with this project that merges our two worlds and the outcome is uniquely LV,” Williams stressed. “This collection fuses our vision with Tyler’s universe through the codes of Louis Vuitton.”
Known for his sweet tooth, Tyler has sprinkled the line with references to pastries, from a small clip-on pouch shaped like an éclair to the Waffle slide, which comes in chocolate, pistachio or custard leather with an LV leather logo evoking melted butter.
A caramel-colored short suit features a chocolate-brown jacquard motif that melds stylized monogram letters and flowers with macaroons, doughnuts and Airedale terriers, another recurring motif in the visual universe of the artist.
His dapper style is reflected in items such as a baby-blue cable knit jumper, a blouson with a blown-up striped knit collar, and a derby boot in pink embossed monogram nubuck leather set on a craggy white sole.
Among the golf-inspired pieces are a windbreaker, technical anorak and zip cardigan crafted in Vuitton’s trademark Damier check pattern in pink or green. Bags come with pink daisy-shaped leather charms, while a small crossbody bag takes the form of a bounding dog.
Among the collectibles are a travel chessboard with pieces hand-sketched by Tyler evoking melted chocolate, and golf accessories such as a golf kit, head covers, and a golf box and towels, all rendered in the grass-green Damier pattern.
Tyler has described Williams’ band N.E.R.D. as a seminal influence, and the two musicians have collaborated on music, with tracks like “Cash In Cash Out.” Cooking up a fashion line wasn’t all that different, Williams said.
“It’s still a collaboration at the end of the day, right? Whether you’re in the music studio writing lyrics and testing different sounds or you’re in the showroom discussing sketches and fabrics, it still involves us coming together to create something new and beautiful. It’s equally as rewarding and I’m constantly wowed by his process and what he creates,” he said.
Like Williams, the rapper — whose full name is Tyler Okonma — has interests spanning a wide range of disciplines, from producing tracks and directing music videos to writing and performing as an artist.
Whereas he courted controversy early in his career with offensive lyrics and dark themes, his “Flower Boy” album in 2017 marked the beginning of a new era that has seen him win two Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album for “Igor” and “Call Me If You Get Lost.” The latter was a concept album centered on his alter-ego Tyler Baudelaire, who liked to carry a suitcase and wear an ushanka hat.
Last year marked the return of Tyler’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival music festival in Los Angeles, after a pandemic-enforced hiatus, and he is one of the headliners of the Coachella festival, alongside Lana Del Rey and Doja Cat.
On the fashion front, Golf Wang has collaborated with brands including Vans, Converse and Japanese footwear label Suico*ke, and recently teased a partnership with Clarks Originals. Meanwhile, Golf le Fleur last year launched its second unisex clothing collection with French fashion brand Lacoste.
At Vuitton, Williams has brought his network of celebrity contacts into the fold, recruiting Rihanna and LeBron James for his first advertising campaigns. While those global personalities capture the limelight, Williams noted that he has also drafted artists to work on his runway collections.
“This is our first collaboration with someone like Tyler, but we’ve collaborated with many incredible artists such as Henry Taylor in the first collection last June, and the incredible artists from the Dakota and Lakota nations in January. We will continue to work with amazing artists and creatives from all realms and walks of life,” he said.
