Pharrell supercharges Vuitton with mega-budget spectacular

Pharrell rocks Paris

- Ben Cobb in Paris

EVER wondered what it looks like when the world’s first $20 billion (£15.7 billion) luxury company decides to flex? Pharrell Williams did and last night on Paris’s Pont Neuf he found out. After a week of teasing behind the-scenes clips and a billboard campaign starring Rihanna and a coffee, he staged his debut runway show as Louis Vuitton’s new men’s creative director. It was, needless to say, a mega-budget spectacle.

We will get on to the clothes but first, a quick rewind. When news broke in February that the 50-year-old rapper/ producer/entrepreneur had bagged menswear’s top job, there was excitement but also cynicism — namely from the old guard. “What does Pharrell know about design?” scoffed the doubters.

Well, probably enough: he created eyewear and jewellery for LV in 2008; he produced a Chanel capsule with Karl Lagerfeld; and he has worked with Nike, BAPE, Timberland and Adidas. Besides, as he explains: “I didn’t go to Central Saint Martins but, you know, I didn’t go to Juilliard to study music. And I’ve been all right.”