Pharrell on his Hong Kong Louis Vuitton show: ‘It continues to be a dream’

On a floor high enough that your ears pop in the elevator up, Pharrell Williams is perched in a chair at the head of the coffee table, flanked by a number of journalists. He’s just leaked an 11-second clip of a new track he’s about to debut at his second-ever runway show and the first-ever pre-fall men’s collection for the storied French maison of Louis Vuitton.

The show is mere hours away, yet in spite of this – and the presence of his press team keeping close watch of the time – there was a distinct air of calm about the musician and now, designer. Williams is courteous, making sure to greet us all in a pleasant manner which suggests he has all the time in the world for our burning questions. And we had many.

We’ve flown for 12 hours to Hong Kong, which has only recently awoken from its post-pandemic slumber; the city faced almost three years of some of the world’s most stringent lockdowns, which decimated its tourism and famed night markets, among other things. “It’s serendipitous that it happens to be perfectly timed around everything opening back up,” Pharrell begins, “knowing now that this is at the very end of the ebbing, and the entire country is in this slingshot that’s about to get let go, where they get into this energetic flow… They’re coming out of the ebbing and into the flow. This side of the earth has always been so good to us, and I wanted them to know that with this appointment, nothing would change. In fact, I’ll do what I can to share this platform.”

And here we all are, following Williams halfway across the world to catch a glimpse of this new rhythm and the platform he’s sharing in a city in the midst of its reawakening. As we landed, the sun rose a molten red between its mountainous terrain, giving us a glimpse of the beauty and marvels that the city holds – and Williams is right, there is a renewed energy here. Indeed, there was such excitement that one editor, after proclaiming with glee that “We’re in Hong Kong!”, endearingly dashed off out of arrivals once transfers had arrived, leaving her Rimowa luggage behind. So much to see, do, and such little time. “I mean, you can feel it in the air, business is on the rise and everything from fashion to finance is on the up right now. I’m just so happy for the people here. Hong Kong is a major artery in the world economy, so it’s important.”

On Hong Kong Island and across the harbour in Kowloon, there is a lot of Louis Vuitton and many other stalwart luxury brands, with outlets on nearly every corner. You can’t do a 360 and not spot a Louis Vuitton store, advert or monogrammed leather good if you try. And we’re not talking Neverfull – here in Hong Kong, they sport more exclusive and eye-catching designs that make the extraordinary back home in London look like an everyday bag here. It makes the concept of Williams’ famed ‘millionaire’ Speedy bag even more of an intriguing concept – not only because of its seven-figure price-tag, but because technically, you cannot purchase it (only a very select few have been sent that coveted made-to-order form). So even in Hong Kong, where exclusivity is hard to keep hold of, it maintains its special allure because of its purposefully inaccessible nature, regardless of whether you can or can’t afford it. So how do you create something truly special for someone who lives a life where special is the standard? I suppose the ‘millionaire’ bag is the answer.

Williams’ latest collection is an ode to Hong Kong’s many businessmen and their lifestyles. From Hong Kong to Hawaii with Lvove, of course. “It’s basically about a businessman from Hong Kong, who takes a vacation to Hawaii, is there for maybe a week or two, but he has a business meeting that he’s got to get back to in Hong Kong, just for a day – day in, day out, and back on his vacation,” Williams explains. “We used the two archetypes of a sailor and then someone on a resort and so, the themes are different and all about what a resort pre-collection would be.”

Later presented on the waterfront at Tsim Sa Tsui, these multicultural influences pop up as sequinned tropical floral printed two-piece shorts set, bomber jackets with a sailor collar with supple leather sailor hats, the new 3D-printed ‘Cobra’ slip-on shoe (made using a technique exclusive to the house), and maritime striped double-breasted suits. There’s a level of dandyism in it all “which is what I wanted to bring to the house,” Williams states. “There are more Damier interpretations. All of the codes that I brought – the pearls, the rivets, buttons and all these things – are coming.” He starts to highlight the jewellery he is wearing, motioning towards his tastefully accessorised neck and wrists before standing up, and lifting his top to reveal a belt with even more trinkets. He embodies the Louis Vuitton man, according to his outfit at least: the flared indigo denim, orange lens sunglasses, the chunky purple LV skate sneaker and his casual jersey sweater. It’s fair to say that the Louis Vuitton man is someone he is incredibly familiar with.

As he sits back down, I ask whether there is a difference between his favourite product to design versus his favourite product to wear and for a second, he pauses in thought. “No, I don’t have a favourite,” he says. “I enjoy it all and this continues to be a dream. The easiest and hardest job that I have is not to wake up. Other than that, this is not a job we do, we just dream. That’s what we do. We build dreams, we make dreams and we produce them.”

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