Louis Vuitton: Designing friendship

When in doubt, pitch in, which Pharrell Williams decidedly did at his final show Tuesday in Paris for Louis Vuitton, where he teamed up with his old friend Nigo.

They are such old friends that the American musician had already worked with the Japanese brand's builder 20 years ago, collaborating on the LV Millionaires 1.0 sunglasses.

The couple was so in love with each other's creativity that they linked their dual silhouettes throughout the collection. Pharrell in his fitted Mountie cap and Nigo under a baseball cap, seen in skinny ties, Damier-print bags or baseball jackets.

Williams presented the collection in a huge circular ensemble, based on the petal shape of the Vuitton monogram. The arrival of the Pont Neuf brass and string orchestra, composed of 30 musicians, announced the start of the action, beginning with a beautiful composition: “One Winged Angel” by Nobuo Uematsu. And culminating with another collaboration called LV Bag with Don Toliver and j-hope.

“It's an artistic manifestation of a lifelong friendship,” Pharrell said in his notes about the show, adding that a key influence was Nigo's “vast archive of 20th century workwear.”

Although this was the most luxurious work clothes, where the donkey jackets were embroidered with pearls; truckers' doublets were made of calfskin; or bike messenger hoodies were intarsia with patchwork monograms. In case you didn't get the message, half a dozen delivery drivers dragged huge trunks around the circle.

Designed by Masamichi Katayama's Wonderwall design firm, the set had display cases, built like huge seconds hands on a clock face, and displaying real artifacts from the Vuitton archives.

That obsession was also evident on the runway, with several revivals of Stephen Sprouse's famous 2001 LV monogram graffiti seen on new bags or biker jackets. Souvenirs abounded at this show, from bears with baseball bats and leather doodles to bows with name tags, like the ones the invitation came in, and pink leather pet lobsters. Questions will be asked about the latter, especially a monogrammed lobster bag, where several French editors were heard to say: Schiaparelli, whose fetish form was a lobster, especially in bright pink.

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There was certainly a lot of great merchandise on this runway, but maybe not as much fashion charm. You had to admire Pharrell's energy and eye, even if you thought his design skills had never captured his musical brilliance.

The duo took a languid bow before a typically high-profile Vuitton front row, led by the brand's endorser, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault. Who, although he attended Trump's inauguration with other billionaires on Monday, flew back for this spectacle of a fellow American.

Joining the luxury boss in the front row were Adrien Brody with his girlfriend Georgina Chapman, and Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina. Brody has been present throughout the European menswear season, gliding on the wings of his new hit film “:The Brutalist”, one of whose producers is Andrew, son of Ralph Lauren. Brody showed up at Prada in Milan last weekend and sat next to Matt Smith, now sporting a braided mohawk, at Armani.

Further along in LV were Bradley Cooper and San Antonio Spurs basketball star Victor Wembanyama, easily the tallest man ever seen on a French catwalk. Wisely choosing the biggest luxury brand for its latest showcase of Parisian fashion.