(Paris) Designer Pharrell Williams presented a “Paris Virginia” fashion show Tuesday night at the opening of Paris Men’s Fashion Week, a trip to the American Western punctuated by drums and Native American motifs and looks dressed in cowhide. boy and Texas boots.
With this third men’s collection, the star designer Louis Vuitton wanted to “illuminate the roots of the American western wardrobe”, with a nod to the length of each arm, the symbolic soft travel bag with the Vuitton logo, “the fundamental instinct of the House”, according to it.
The stars, first of all the American rapper Playboi Carti, members of the K-Pop group Riize, but also the American actors Bradley Cooper and the French actors Tahar Rahim and Omar Sy, were present in the room, set up in a simple cube. at the foot of the Vuitton Foundation, in the Bois de Boulogne.
After the microphone parade, Pharrell Williams performed again, accompanied by the British group Mumford and Sons and the percussion of traditional Indian singers.
Six months ago, the American singer, who arrived at the artistic head of the brand in February 2023, made a sensational entry into the world of fashion, with a show already considered legendary for its excess on the Pont-Neuf in Paris.
This time a proposal reminiscent of a recent Martin Scorsese film Killers of the Flower Moonhe refined the decor and refocused the show on very homogeneous silhouettes and a strong and legible theme.
The modern cowboy
As for silhouettes, for these modern and sensitive cowboys, denim is glazed with pearls and sequins or softened, with floral patterns. The leather pants mimic the relief of horse saddles, and the shoulder straps for cold desert nights feature the brand’s traditional checkerboard pattern.
Antelope, denim, leather and raw materials arrive patinated, as if they have aged under the prairie sun of the great American West.
All the hallmarks of a cowboy costume are there, from a fringed jacket to a sheriff’s ascot, including a wide-brimmed hat or ankle boots.
But the indigenous touch, especially with musicians from the Dakota tribe invited to the stage, nuanced this version of the American story that could be judged as colonial.
The accessory was otherwise ubiquitous, with the vast majority of models wearing glasses in the form of two rimless mirrors.
PHOTO ALAIN JOCARD, FRANCE-PRESSE AGENCY
The performance ended under artificial snowfall, which left the audience speechless, as well as the interruption of the after party by animal rights activist Peta, who was quickly evacuated by security.
The third collection
Pharrell Williams, jack of all trades known for his hits happy AND Get lucky alongside Daft Punk, this collection has been eagerly awaited, after presenting a pre-collection inspired by Hawaii in Hong Kong.
After the main building on the Champs-Élysées, the French luxury group continues to conquer the Parisian public space, despite the protests of certain elected officials, and in parallel with Fashion announces the installation of XXL bags, huge inflatable structures that have already been seen in China. Week.
In addition to this headliner, there will be big houses like Balmain, Valentino, Dior Homme or Givenchy, who will perform without their creative director Matthew Williams, who left on the 1st.this one January.
Paris Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2024-2025. follows in the footsteps of the Milanese. And it will be structured, with 42 parades and 32 presentations spread over six days, from Tuesday to Sunday.