PARIS — Pharrell Williams won the media attention sweepstakes with his debut men’s collection for Louis Vuitton last June. With the line landing in stores on Thursday, he now faces his first major test of commercial success.
The French luxury brand pulled out the stops for the rollout, with splashy activations including a temporary location on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris and a takeover of its flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York City, both fully decked out in the checkerboard motif that was a keystone of the spring 2024 collection.
Vuitton is unveiling dedicated store concepts across more than 50 locations worldwide, including a pop-up and 16 windows at Selfridges department store in London and a makeover of its permanent pop-up space in Seoul. The installations will remain in place for a period of one to three months, depending on the location.
In tandem, the brand plans in-store happenings, DJ residencies and food concepts, reflecting Vuitton’s self-described positioning as a “cultural” brand with broad reach across segments including sports, gaming, music and art.
The collection release coincides with the launch of a campaign featuring basketball star LeBron James touting Williams’ new interpretation of the Speedy bag, as well as a 24-hour digital world tour of the bag design. Taking the form of CGI renderings, the new Speedy P9 will journey from Shanghai to Paris via the house’s social channels and in-app filters.
Louis Vuitton chairman and chief executive officer Pietro Beccari was not available to comment on the launch, which the brand described as its largest menswear activation to date.
Williams took advantage of his presence in Hong Kong for Vuitton’s first physical pre-fall menswear show to take a short business trip to China in early December, which coincided with the installation of three giant inflatable Speedy bags: one outside the Louis Vuitton flagship in Chengdu and two in Shanghai, one of which floated down the city’s Huangpu River.
“I definitely wanted to make my mark in bags and trunks,” Williams told WWD in Shanghai. “And I just felt like when you think about nice handbags, luxury handbags, the first thing that pops in most people’s minds is the Speedy.”
The handbag was a focal point of the musician’s spectacular debut show in June on the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris, which drew celebrities including Beyoncé, Zendaya and Rihanna, and culminated with a live performance by Jay-Z.
The show was the top-ranked of the men’s season, with a media impact value of $42.6 million, according to data research and insights company Launchmetrics. The event broke records by garnering 775 million views on Vuitton’s owned platforms and an additional 300 million video views on press accounts, the brand reported.
In the wake of the runway display, the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned house broke the threshold of 3 million subscribers on YouTube, making it the most followed luxury label on the platform, with 16 million views of the main film of the show.
Vuitton is betting on the new handbags in primary colors, originally teased with a campaign featuring a pregnant Rihanna, to drive sales. The Speedy P9 is made from calf leather instead of canvas, playing into a long-term upscaling strategy for Vuitton leather goods.
“It’s a different vibe, and just sort of an opportunity to let people know that our job and our partnership and working together is about leveling up and not just a few steps, but floors up,” Williams explained. “We were already using really nice textiles, and there was a lot of craftsmanship that was just already super stellar, but you can’t stop there.”
The bag will be available in a limited network of stores worldwide, including the Champs-Élysées store in Paris, the New Bond Street boutique in London and the SoHo location in New York, with a strategy centered on exclusivity that is expected to generate waiting lists. In Paris, the Speedy P9 can be viewed by special request in an all-black “secret room” on the first floor.
Most of the much-hyped crocodile Speedy P9s with gold and diamond hardware, with an eye-watering price tag of 1 million euros, have been sold, according to a Vuitton spokesman. The brand did not specify how many were produced.
The entrance of Vuitton’s temporary residence space at 100 Avenue des Champs-Élysées is covered in a circular gold version of the brand’s signature Damier check pattern, in an echo of the sunray motif on the stained glass invitations for the June show.
Inside, mirrored gold and silver paneling evokes the giant gold Damier pattern that covered the pavement of the bridge that was used as a runway. The store concept also integrates Paris landmarks like the traditional dark-green bookseller stands on the banks of the Seine river, and the Morris columns used to display advertising posters, which date back to the 19th century.
The Paris activation spreads across three floors. A basement room is lined with wooden shelves shaped like speakers, in a nod to the recording studio that Williams has installed at the brand’s headquarters. It houses clothing and accessories featuring his new Damoflage motif, a pixelated pattern that splices the Damier check with camouflage, and LVers emblem.
Novelty items include portable Nanogram speakers, a sneaker trunk with a transparent front window, and a reusable coffee cup with a golden metallic monogram-engraved straw, identical to the one Williams uses.
On the ground floor, a giant screen broadcasts footage of the show behind a row of mannequins. It is home to accessories including jewelry, featuring gender-fluid offerings such as the brooch with a pearl chain worn by James in the ad campaign.
These chime with the “dandy club” on the first floor, an area with pale green walls adorned with an LV coat of arms, dedicated to dressier outfits and exotic leather bags. Visitors will be able to take part in photo calls at a Parisian kiosk and create personalized Louis Vuitton posters, the brand said in a statement.
Other locations will feature variations on the same theme, with Selfridges’ pop-up showcasing a reimagined version of the Pont Neuf bridge made from 3D cubes. Visitors are invited to walk through the arches of the bridge where a music installation broadcasts the show soundtrack, featuring “Joy (Unspeakable)” performed by gospel choir Voices of Fire.
The miniature golden recreation of the Pont Neuf is one of two global installation models, with the other consisting of a small-scale reconstruction of Paris buildings and monuments. In Seoul, the launch will be accompanied by an in-store culinary animation, reflecting Vuitton’s growing inroads into the hospitality segment.
In some locations, purchases will be packaged in limited-edition carrier bags featuring the Damoflage motif and LVers logo.
Sales associates will wear bespoke uniforms consisting of a suit in a white Damoflage pattern with matching shirt, a gilded LVers pin and white sneakers, matching the looks worn by members of the live orchestra who performed at the show.
— With contributions from Denni Hu
