Paris Fashion Week Men’s kicks off with Pharrell’s Drophaus for Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton has always been about hyper-savvy brand connections, all the way to its latest show whose centerpoint was a beautiful modernist architectural set. 

 
From Bauhaus to Drophaus, the term Vuitton’s menswear creative director Pharrell Williams used to describe this elegant apartment, made in collaboration with the architectural firm Not A Hotel: a prefabricated house concept envisioned as a timeless space for future living. Think a blend of midcentury modern-meets-Joseph Dirand.
 
An ideal setting for this expression of modernist mode by Williams, which opened Paris Fashion Week Men’s at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on a wet Tuesday night in Paris. And don’t be surprised if some of the furniture Pharrell designed for this model home turns up in the hotel Louis Vuitton is said to be building on the Champs-Élysées. 

A raised model home built inside a plywood crate the size of a small stadium, on which was stencilled in half-meter high letters “Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 26 Men’s Collection”.

An ideal Instagram backdrop for hundreds of guests, or micro and mega influencers. Many of whom where sat front row wearing the hand-made, caramel-colored Babouche slippers Williams kindly sent as a gift with his formal invitation.
 
A huge show backed up by a gospel choir attired in black professors’ gowns at one end, facing a full orchestra at the other. 

Without question, the most commercially minded yet also timeless of Pharrell’s five shows so far for the house, focused on crisp, cohesive tailoring. Opening with classic six-button jackets and the flared pants that Pharrell favors, many composed in new LV technical fabrics reflective under light.
 
Though the heart of the matter was the travel-wear: natty crinkly jerkins so one never needs to fear coming off a long-haul flight with a crumpled look. Padded urban ski jackets with fur-trimmed hood, or chambray shell jackets for a little dash.
 
One also had to love the splendid ankle-brazing gents coats, finished with matching woollen bows, or vicuna zippered and pocketed sweatshirts. Above all, the American designer toned way down the streetwear, and concentrated on contemporary tailoring, and casual chic, albeit never too quiet but rippling with panache.
 
In accessories, a fab’ new series of monogram backpacks, elongated and finished with extra micro pockets should be huge hits.  Many boasting cuddly fox companions that looked like must-have ornaments. 
 
And, of course, it would not be a Pharrell Vuitton show without a few mammoth trunks. Two standouts this season were an uncanny light-filled,  stained-glass-window version of a Tiffany lamp, followed by a beautifully made intarsia vista of Pont Alexandre III and the Eiffel Tower.
 

All of which won Pharrell a huge ovation – led by a powerhouse front row that included First Lady Brigitte Macron; “Adolescence” protagonist Stephen Graham; it-guy Djo; and crooner, John Legend. 
 
Williams took a leisurely bow, backed up by a soundtrack he produced at the Louis Vuitton in-house recording studios. It included compositions like Pray For Ya by John Legend; Sex God by Jackson Wang (feat. Pusha T); Disturbing The P by A$AP Rocky (feat. Pharrell Williams); and The One by Voices of Fire (feat. Pharrell Williams) and Hit-A-Lik by Quavo.
 
In a word, another hit show, and collection, by Williams. Not bad going for what is technically his night job.