Am I a slave to fashion? In a sense, yes. I break the rules in the name of creativity often, but more times than not I am what my Grandmother Ophelia calls me … a “clothes hound.” I just love fashion and everything about it, which I got naturally from her. I am not like most fashion-forward people of my generation. Vogue magazine was not my go-to medium to keep current on what would be the fashion trend for each season. I would flip through Vogue in the grocery store line, and in the 1970s, perhaps seen one or two pictures of African American models such as Naomi Sims, Bethanne Hardison, Iman, Pat Cleveland or Beverly Johnson. But that was few and far in between. I never really saw myself represented as I did in Ebony. That was the magazine on the coffee tables of my family’s homes. I was not exposed to African American designers in Vogue. The only one I knew of was the legendary Willi Smith. I would learn later that Patrick Kelly and Jay Jaxon were active members of the design teams at Parisian fashion houses such Saint Laurent and well sought for their artistry. However, systemic racism would keep them from running a couture house.

My favorite designer as a little brown girl besides my grandmother was Halston. I adored Halston. My go-to fragrance is Halston. I spritz the iconic scent on my person nearly every day. It is one of my signature perfumes. The other is Karl Lagerfeld’s Chloé. While both late designers are known for their close love and muses of African Americans in the industry – Pat Cleveland for Halston and Andre Leon Talley was a dear friend of Lagerfeld – neither house promoted African American designers into positions of leadership in couture. I still have a few pieces of my grandmother’s designs hanging lovingly in my closet. However fabulous designers such as she or Jay Jaxon would never ascend to the crown of the fashion industry, becoming not just the artist behind the scenes, but the face of luxury couture.

Virgil Abloh would accomplish this feat in 2018 by becoming the first African American creative director of Louis Vuitton. Abloh died in 2021 after steering the luxury house to the head of the class of couture street wear for three groundbreaking years. But with the overwhelming commercial success of his own brand, “Off White,” there was little doubt that Abloh was equipped and ready to take on the top spot at a luxury conglomerate. There was a lot of speculation after Abloh’s death regarding who would take the helm at Vuitton, which put on two subsequent runway shows of Abloh’s final designs.

Yet no one threw Pharrell Williams’ name into the speculatory conversation. Pharrell had distinguished himself as a lover of fashion and collaborated with Vuitton on two other occasions in the past. Pharrell has a distinctive style that follows the tradition of marrying music and fashion. Who can forget the summer of the large Ranger Smith-style hats he constantly was seen in on the red carpet? Pharrell is not a classically trained designer. He did not apprentice in an established atelier like the late great Gianni Versace or Yves Saint Laurent. Nor was he a part of a couture house’s design team like Jay Jaxon.

So, when it was announced in February that LVMH had selected Pharrell to be Vuitton’s new creative director, there was shock at this unprecedented move and tensions were exceeding high. “I’m a Black man. They have given this appointment to a Black man,” Pharell stated after the announcement. “This is the crown jewel of the LVMH portfolio. It’s everything, and I was appointed to rule in this position.”

It also was apparent from last week’s runway show that skipping Pharrell to the head of the class may not have been a bad decision on the part of LVMH executive Pietro Beccari. “After Virgil, I couldn’t choose a classical designer,” Beccari told the press after the official announcement. “It was important that we found someone having a broader spectrum than being a very fantastic designer, which is great for the industry and we have many of them,” he said. “But for that particular place, at Louis Vuitton, after Virgil, I thought we needed something more. Something that went beyond just pure design.”

It would appear to the trained and experienced eye on fashion that what LVMH really desired was to keep the momentum of Virgil Abloh’s trendsetting streetwear design flowing and perhaps Pharrell is the route to go. Pharrell sure does bring the star factor like Abloh before him. At last week’s runway show in Paris, the celebrity factor was staggering. With everyone from Beyonce and Jay Z, Rhianna and ASAP,

Offset, Zendaya and Kim Kardashian, to rocker Lenny Kravitz, Megan thee Stallion, Naomi Campbell and Russell Westbrook present, the star power was immense. Continuing the design of the familiar LV Damier or checkerboard pattern that is a bestseller in its handbag collection, Pharrell explored the now iconic pattern, now coined “damouflage,” by combining it with the elemental design of camouflage, presenting a distinct new couture avenue to explicate in future collections. For me, the dizzying pattern is more reminiscent of the game “Minecraft.” The new design was featured on luggage, cargo pants, jackets, rainboots and other key elements of spring-summer fashion wear. The more outstanding pieces of the collection were the GM Alma in British tan and black, the evergreen Damier trench coat, the pearl encrusted GM Speedy, what appeared to be a golden sheared fur coat with the LV logo imprinted, and the patterned coat with brown tribal insignia on a camel textured coat.

At the end of the collection, and after taking in the standing ovation given him, Pharrell did something amazing: The design team came out onto the runway, and he kneeled to them in respect and gave them their accolades. That is something that you do not see at a runway show. Besides having the star power of a Rhianna or a Zendaya behind him to elevate and promote the brand of Louis Vuitton, perhaps the non-traditional selection of Pharrell Williams as creative director may not be an ill-fit. Maybe, just maybe, this era in Vuitton couture history will be more than translatable profitability and a study in cultural appropriation. Maybe, just maybe, Pharrell Williams will steer Louis Vuitton and the fashion industry toward diversity and inclusivity.