LV LOVERS FROM VIRGINIA TO PARIS

Pharrell Williams’ Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2024 collection debuted at Paris Fashion Week on January 16, 2024. The collection is advertised as “LVERS’ Vision of the American Western Wardrobe”. In front row, seated was Bradley Cooper, LaKeith Standflied and Dev Hynes.

Pharrell Williams recalls his American-inspired inaugural Fall-Winter show at the Jardin d’Acclimatation in Paris, set against a symbolic snowy backdrop. The Jardin d’Acclimatation in Paris is changed by scenography that embodies the Maison’s spirit of travel, which is illuminated by iconic iconography of the American West.

With a harp etched with the lettering “LV Lovers” as an invitation, inspired by the state of Virginia’s slogan, “Virginia is for Lovers,” introduced in 1969.

From Virginia to Paris, Pharrell Williams exhibited a collection of fitted designs inspired by the brilliance of the sun. Emblematic patterns and a vibrant colour palette establish this collection as the future Louis Vuitton Men’s style, boldly ornamented with important elements.

Pharrell Williams skillfully reimagines soft suede and leather, displaying the Maison’s trademark Monogram design and LV Initials in Western interpretations. Pharrell Williams’ collection, based on a creative interaction, combines sophisticated tailoring with iconic symbols of the American West.

The Speedy P9, shown in a range of supple leather tones, combines Louis Vuitton’s renowned savoir-faire with the contemporaneity of Pharrell Williams’ inaugural collection.

Williams continues the LVERS motif, which was prominent in his earlier body of work, by bringing Virginia to Paris. The Louis Vuitton Men’s Fall/Winter 2024 collection delves on the origins of the American Western outfit, with a barren Virginian mountain range serving as the show background. Williams is an ardent storyteller, and there’s no denying his theatrics. The ensuing runway show was nothing short of spectacular, thanks to excellent direction and Louis Vuitton’s renowned savoir-faire. The collection has two themes: American Western workwear and tailoring.

Williams meticulously planned everything: from cowboy hats to leather caps and gloves embellished with buckles and stones that reflect the prairie dandy, the collection’s presentation also included Native Voices of Resistance artists. There were 80 outfits shown that night in Paris. For a little while, we were living in the elegantly fashionable wild west.

With travel at the heart of the house’s identity, the discovery of the roots of workwear takes front stage as it is translated into Louis Vuitton savoir-faire. The collection showcases major symbols of American Western attire using craftsmanship and embroidery methods. Pharrell pays homage to the American Western wardrobe’s workwear by emphasizing clichés like as denim, blanket jackets, Buffalo Check, and chaps with a cowboy look. Louis Vuitton’s style merges with the American Western dandy, combining cowboy shirts and workwear shapes with beading and adornment.

The First Cowboy motif, which honours American Western workwear, featured jeans with pearl and sequin flower embroidery, gunmetal wash, or Western floral designs. Denim or fringed leather chaps included Monogram and floral embellishments, while leather jackets and pants simulate saddle embossing. Plaid mixes with Damier Buffalo Check may be found on coats, jackets and shirts. Blanket jackets and gilets included a cowboy monogram, pyjamas are made with cowboy lace, and a tweed jacket features a ‘horsetooth’ design. Original cowboy paintings are transformed into jacquard tapestries for raincoats, dry canvases for a rope-embroidered jacket, or prints on clothing that seem like they’ve weathered in the prairie heat.

The custom of dressing up in the American Dandy concept is tackled from a rural perspective, with suits and shirts chain-stitched with cactus, bucrania, and Western iconography. Workwear silhouettes are turned into tailoring in vaquero jackets with hand-embroidered metallic cuivre flowers, work jackets with multi-color sunbeam beading, and suits with metal-studded or turquoise-embellished pinstripes or Damier checks. Dungarees, the pinnacle of workwear, are appreciated in exquisite tailoring. Western shirts highlight the genre’s yokes, rivets, and floral embroideries, while others are made of cowboy Monogram jacquard, cowboy lace, Western designs, or garlanded with soutache embroidery on chambray.

While this collection traces the origins of cowboy culture and reminds us of the role of African-Americans in the American Old West narrative (as described in the documentary Black Far West, which will be released in 2023 by the French-German channel Arte), Pharrell Williams also gives Native American artists from the Dakota and Lakota tribes a voice. Thus, a Speedy bag, a messenger bag, and a travel tote are embroidered with the Dakota flower, a symbol of nature’s beauty, while three Keepall bags include hand-painted parfleche and tipi patterns from Dee Jay Two Bears studios in North Dakota.

In keeping with the American workwear theme, the collection includes a collaboration with Timberland, an American outdoor footwear company. A collection of its traditional industrial boots is available in wheat-colored or black waterproof scrivante nubuck, delicately debossed with the Maison’s Monogram on the rear of the tongue.