There’s something a little different about New York Fashion Week this season, I realized last Friday night as a model crawled down the catwalk on all fours while sporting dog ears, facial prosthetics that resembled a muzzle, and a “woof” T-shirt. This was by no means the week’s only bizarre incident. In addition, Thom Browne featured aliens with long, spiraling fingers and toenails, Rodarte featured fairies complete with enormous wings, and Area featured costumes made from enormous bananas. None of which the crowds anticipated. Since it has long been believed that New York Fashion Week is a showcase for major labels like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger, but not the best place to see the zeitgeist shift through the eyes of avant-garde designers.
There’s something a little different about New York Fashion
That idea has long been in danger. For a variety of reasons, many of the largest names in US fashion have recently strayed from the calendar. This season, Michael Kors and Coach are the only remaining major names after Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, and Tom Ford did not present their collections.
The other designers on the program were smaller names, many of whom were unknown to those in the fashion industry. The Americans I spoke to adopted a more optimistic stance, arguing that space had been left for desperately needed raw talent while several in the British press complained about the lack of stardust. Pharrell Williams wears numerous hats, including Louis Vuitton and Billionaire Boys Club.
New York Fashion Week sees a flurry of little firms.
One of the most talked-about chapters in recent fashion history is finally put to rest with the hiring of Pharrell Williams as creative head of menswear at Louis Vuitton. Now, it is confirmed who will continue Virgil Abloh’s legacy. Although some critics may cast doubt on the multi-talented artist’s credentials and some people may only be familiar with him from his upbeat, catchy radio songs, Williams is undoubtedly not new to the fashion world.
Williams has been fusing music, pop culture, and fashion in his work for more than 20 years—just as Virgil Abloh once did. Together with his 13 Grammys, the 49-year-old also owns a portfolio of brands, including high-profile collaborations in the fashion and cosmetics industries. His footsteps have moreover frequently intersected with his current employer LVMH, the parent business of Louis Vuitton, throughout the years. The streetwear company Billionaire Boys Club was established in 2003 by Pharrell Williams and Japanese designer Nigo (BBC).
the Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons
The company is deeply entrenched in music, Japanese streetwear, pop culture, the skater scene, and other subcultures. It also owns the brand’s Ice Cream, Bee Line, and Billionaire Girls Club. Since the brand’s beginnings, an astronaut wearing a helmet—one of its most recognizable symbols—has appeared on BBC clothes as well as in a number of other contexts. The two streetwear experts have worked with a variety of companies over the past 20 years, including the sportswear companies Reebok and Adidas, the Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons, the animated series Pokémon, and the New York Yankees baseball team. Pharrell Williams wearing a T-shirt with the BBC Astronauts logo. Billionaire Boys Club, an image
A Billionaire Boys Club capsule was also made by Colette
, possibly the most well-known concept shop in the world at the time, in honor of Williams’ performance at the Zenith Arena in Paris in 2014. Together with other artist collaborations, including specially made macarons by Parisian patisserie Ladurée, this was offered for sale during “Pharrell Week,” an occasion at the Parisian store.
