Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton: Is an adidas Collaboration Next?

After over a year-long search, Louis Vuitton’s hunt for a successor has finally come to end. Set to take over as Creative Director of LV’s Menswear line is none other than musician, producer and familiar front-row face, Pharrell Williams.

Beating out early candidates like Grace Wales Bonner, Martine Rose and Telfar Clemens, the certified celeb’s new position as house helm signifies that LVMH is still betting big on the streetwear-focussed approach brought in by Abloh, though Skateboard P’s appointment does suggest there may be some change afoot.

Alongside his musical ventures, Pharrell is no stranger to the fashion scene. The multihyphenate is often regarded as one of the best-dressed men in the business and co-founded Billionaire Boys Club with Nigo, who currently heads up LVMH-owned Kenzo. From here, the duo also launched a number of sub-labels, including Ice Cream, Bee Line and Billionaire Girls Club. Pharrell is also a frequent fashion collaborator, having worked with Moncler and Chanel, as well as joining forces with Marc Jacobs-era LV back in 2008 for a jewellery project.

Given the aesthetic adopted by both himself and his previous ventures, it would be fair to assume that a Pharrell-led Louis Vuitton wouldn’t look too dissimilar to the design language favoured by Abloh. As sneakerheads, though, we can’t help but debate the main difference. Abloh, of course, had a long-term deal going with Nike, which saw him produce collaborative models under both Off-White and Louis Vuitton - whereas Pharrell has significant links to adidas. Could this mean that future LV collabs could switch to the 3-Stripes?

Having joined adidas back in 2014, the length of Pharrell’s deal wasn’t specified, and was simply referred to as being ‘long term’. Nearly 10 years later, Skateboard P has continued to put his spin on 3-Stripes silhouettes, with clothing capsules frequently dropping alongside footwear. It was only recently that he jumped on the adidas Samba train, having worked on a football-themed capsule and stopped to watch a tedious 0-0 England vs USA World Cup game at a British pub.

Those who stay on top of their fashion news will remember that it wasn’t all that long ago that adidas joined forces with two brands under the Kering umbrella - Gucci and Balenciaga. A rival conglomerate to LVMH, the deals made it very unlikely that the German giant would be able to join forces with a label that was outside of the Kering family. However, towards the end of 2023, Gucci announced a shake-up in leadership, citing that it wanted a fresh change of pace from Alessandro Michele’s vision. Known for his bright and bold approach to fashion, adidas’ archive of classic sportswear styles fed into Michele’s vision perfectly, and the duo dropped both summer and winter capsules under the adidas x Gucci joint project. Now that Kering Group has elected Sabato de Sarno to head up the Italian fashion house, one would expect the forthcoming collections to be a little more subdued.

It’s a similar story at Balenciaga, too. adidas became one of the brand’s biggest collaborators under Creative Director Demna’s reign, but after scandal struck the company, the designer revealed his new plans for the house to VOGUE. Once known for its memes and ironic approach to fashion, Demna revealed that the future of the house lay more in the classic art of making clothes: “The emphasis is on my love for the craft of making clothes now,” he told the magazine. “I have already referenced that in our couture collections, but now it is going to be applied to all the rest. That is ultimately why I do what I do. My interest lies in armholes, sleeve heads, and shoulder lines, not in making seasonal campaigns, even if that is also part of my job.” Does that mean there’s less room for sportswear-centred collaborations going forward?

With adidas’ financial situation already looking bleak, the threat of losing the kudos that comes with working with a big fashion house is looming. Couple this with the fact that the brand lost one of its biggest stars when it ended its deal with Kanye West last year, and it's clear that it may want to be working overtime to cling to its star power and continue its association with Pharrell. For the 3-Stripes, the idea that it could be in a position where it is able to partner with a brand like Louis Vuitton is a bit of a saving grace right now, and the move could provide another opportunity to tap into a streetwear-savvy audience, and regain the cool it lost when it ended things with Kanye.

Of course, it could be entirely possible that Pharrell looks to keep the jobs completely separate, or even ends his deal with adidas - and it's worth remembering that LVMH is still working closely with the Swoosh following its Tiffany collab, but can you picture a Louis Vuitton x adidas joint project? Which silhouettes would you like to see the French fashion house tackle? Let us know, and in the meantime here’s why we’re sick of MSCHF’s Big Red Boots.