Just after Valentine's Day, Louis Vuitton released a blockbuster message on the ins official account:
Pharrell Williams, an American rapper and fashion designer, will succeed Virgil Abloh as the creative director of LV men's clothing.
The position of creative director of men's clothing, which had been vacant for more than a year, was finally settled.
After the death of Virgil Abloh, the former creative director of LV men's wear, in November 2021, the topic of who will carry the banner of LV men's wear has been controversial.
At first, Kanye West was considered the most suitable candidate. He is not only a friend of Virgil for many years, but also a leader of Virgil in the fashion industry. During his tenure in LV, the two also maintained a cooperative relationship.
However, Kanye's fashion empire is in jeopardy because of his anti Jewish remarks and financial disputes. As the most frustrated person in the fashion industry in 2022, Kanye is the first to withdraw from the competition of candidates.
Another candidate is British designer Martin Rose. She is a member of the original Vetements seven person team, and also served as a member of the behind the scenes design team of Demna Gvasalia, a consultant of BALENCIAGA and NAPAPIJRI. Her talent is extraordinary.
Like Virgil, she pays close attention to the regional "subculture", draws inspiration from the minority, joins the British class culture, and looks for a breakthrough to capture the support of the minority.
Michael Burke, CEO of LV, will be present at the Spring/Summer 2023 Fashion Show of Martine Rose, which will further enhance the possibility of speculation about her filling the vacancy of creative director of LV men's wear.
The last popular candidate is Colm Dillane, founder of KidSuper. Further than the first two, he served as the guest designer of LV and jointly created the autumn and winter men's wear series of 2023 with the men's wear team.
Colm Dillane's creation conforms to LV's focus on inheritance and creativity, and also retains Virgil's yearning for innocence in design. 69 looks are unconstrained, which can be said to be a good answer.
But now it seems that whether executives go to the show or are invited to be guest designers, they are only part of the LV quiz. It is not easy to take this position.
So, why can Pharrell Williams "parachute" LV without warning and serve as the creative director of men's clothing? This article may give you an answer.
Fei Dong, it's very difficult to understand
Born in 1973 in Pharrell Williams, Virginia, USA, he is also a "slash character".
Before becoming a fashion designer, he had many identities such as singer, songwriter, music producer, producer, etc.
In the music industry, Pharrell Williams is a rising star. He has won 13 Grammy Awards. Beyonce, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Madonna, Boss Huang and many other celebrities have cooperated with him in lyrics and songs.
At the same time, he also has his own brand and many businesses, so he is called Fei Dong. In short, he is the same as Boss Huang and Chairman Zhou.
In 2015, at the Oscar CFDA Award Ceremony in the fashion industry, Mr. Fei received the Fashion Icon Award from Kanye West.
When receiving the award, he wore the cowboy suit and worker's hat that American workers often wear, which was enough to show his modesty and low profile. Diane, the chairman of CFDA, commented on him: "If Cool is a person, he is Pharrell Williams." The influence of Fei Dong's fashion can be seen.
Fei Dong knows the trend
When the trend and fashion were still distinct, Mr. Fei had already started to cooperate with other luxury brands after establishing his own clothing brand.
In 2005, Fei Dong and Nigo Nagao, a Japanese fashion designer, jointly founded the Fashion Brand BBC Billion Youth Club and the fashion shoe brand Ice Cream in the same year.
Rapper, who didn't wear his clothes in those years, was embarrassed to say that he played underground.
Fei Dong's affinity with LV also began in this year. In 2005, Fei Dong was invited to design Millionaire series sunglasses for Louis Vuitton.
Once this series is launched, hip-hop people are almost all hands.
However, Fei Dong is not the only one who has no money. Colorful sunglasses themselves have the potential to be a blockbuster. Until now, they are also one of the accessories with the highest sales volume in LV.
In 2008, LV found cooperation with the Philippines and the Philippines again. The Philippines and Camille Miceli, the brand jewelry designer, jointly designed the "Rock on Cherub" in the new Blackon series to interpret the American luxury style with a new concept.
In addition to LV, Mr. Fei is also very close to another luxury brand, Chanel.
When Karl Lagerfeld was in office, he invited Fei Dong to be the male lead of Chanel's advertisement more than once. For this reason, he personally filmed him with a hand mirror, almost like a son.
With the growing popularity of Mr. Fei, many brands have been throwing olive branches at him one after another.
In 2013, Mr. Fei served as the honorary guest designer of Moncler Lunettes, and designed men's and women's sunglasses for the brand;
In 2014, Mr. Fei designed a small train handbag for Moynat, which made many stars love it;
In the same year, Director Fei and adidas reached a long-term cooperation agreement. The first batch of works was ten pairs of Stan Smith sneakers. Each pair was hand painted by Director Fei. Needless to say, it was another large-scale scramble
There are numerous examples of the cooperation between Mr. Fei and fashion brands, all of which prove his brilliant talent and his position in the field of fashion.
After releasing the series without creative director of men's wear for many times, LV's design team is mature enough now.
In this context, the new successor of the brand needs not only outstanding design talent, but also popularity and adventurous spirit. Through their strong appeal, they lead the brand to increase exposure to attract new consumers.
As a global cultural icon, Mr. Fei is fully capable of doing these things and steering the giant ship of LV men's wear. His debut in LV will be released in Men's Wear Week in June, and we will wait and see whether the Philippines director will continue the street trend or blaze a new trail!
