From Pharrell’s Virginia allusions to that Minecraft-inspired vibe

The most significant of LVMH’s displays was held last night, when Pharrell Williams debuted his first line for Louis Vuitton. All of the world’s most prominent celebrities, the gotha of LVMH designers and the fashion press, and the most impressive army of PR specialists the French city has ever seen congregated in the very long front row that ran the two sides of Pont Neuf, Paris. The collection was pop and mainstream in terms of design, but could avant-garde be expected from the most successful company in the world? There was undoubtedly a continuity with the extremely American-infused vocabulary of Virgil, but there was also enough difference to allow for a more or less exact connection with Pharrell.

Here are the key references and hidden meanings from the show, however there were many others.

Did the Louis Vuitton display make any allusions to Minecraft?

Actually no, multi-scale camouflage or digital camouflage is a pattern that has been part of the language of fashion for a long time-already Raf Simons in his historic FW02 collection employed it for example. The pattern has a long history but it was the Canadians who first employed it again in 2002 under the name Canadian Disruptive Pattern. From Louis Vuitton the pattern took the name “Damoflage,” with clear reference to the Damier pattern that dominated the entire collection and was a reference to Atari’s 8-bit graphics, made for the occasion by artist ET.  As previously mentioned, the color scheme was very reminiscent of Minecraft gameplay, but in reality, the use of pixels was intended to elevate the traditional checkerboard pattern by making it visually vibrant and implying a digitization on the other, bringing Louis Vuitton’s traditional language into the connected world of social and technology.

Why the show took place on Pont Neuf

The venue of the show—the Pont Neuf—signifies a metaphorical link between Paris and Pharrell Williams’ native Virginia. The bridge’s path brings to mind Pharrell’s recollections of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, an important part of his education. It also brings to mind a “path” that Pharrell has traveled for a long time thanks to his friendships with Marc Jacobs and Pietro Beccari. We may also claim that the Pont Neuf, which is next to the Cheval Blanc hotel and the company’s design office, is one of the most iconic and characteristically Parisian places one could imagine.

What did the letters LVERS stand for?

The primary logo, which dominated various other items of clothing as well as several of the collection’s most notable outerwear, changes Louis Vuitton’s initials into the word LVERS. Clearly a satirical deformation of the word “lovers,” it is also a tribute to Pharrell’s home state of Virginia, whose official tagline is Virginia is for Lovers. It is designed to represent the vitamin-packed, upbeat atmosphere Pharrell brought to the collection.

Stefano Pilati did he walk the catwalk?

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What Louis Vuitton bag does Pharrell like the best?

In his interviews, Pharrell seemed most interested in discussing Louis Vuitton’s Speedy model, which he reinterpreted while maintaining the original design. He did away with the traditional semi-rigid canvas structure in favor of a soft leather construction that allows it to fold and bend “through everyday wear and gestures,” making the bag more luxurious, thanks in part to its screen-printed monogram, and better suited to the idea of everyday use.