Is Pharrell's Formula at Louis Vuitton Working?

Pharrell's third Paris Fashion Week presentation is in the books. 

The Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2025 runway show provided more of what we have come to expect from this Pharrell LV era: beautiful accessories, colorful takes on some of LV's signature codes, a premier of a new song or two, and some leather coats we can only dream of hanging in our closet one day. 

As fun as it is to take in these shows, are they becoming a bit too formulaic? Check out more of our biggest takeaways following Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2025, below.

This has nothing to do with clothes, but how could you not be excited to get more music from Pusha T and Malice after hearing "Birds Don't Sing," the track that premiered during last night's Louis Vuitton show? Assisted by brooding Pharrell production and a powerful chorus from John Legend, the brothers rapped about the deaths of their mother and father. Despite the deep subject matter of the track, I couldn't help but bob my head as it blasted through the sound system at La Maison de l'Unesco (it sounded absolutely incredible). 

It's been 15 years since the last Clipse album. The duo sounds like they haven't missed a beat. Also, it's just great to see Push and Malice side by side once again (ok, one thing about clothes, those white ostrich leather bags they were toting were crazy). They confirmed an album is coming. Hopefully, it's soon. We need it ASAP. —Mike DeStefano

The collapsible leather Speedy bag Pharrell introduced during his first Men’s collection for Louis Vuitton doesn’t get old. It’s now his signature and something I presume Louis Vuitton will continue to produce once he moves on. This season they came in a bevy of sun-bleached hues including pistachio, baby pink, citron, and peach. These specific colors on bags felt like completely new territory for Louis Vuitton and they paired nicely with the collection’s mostly neutral palette. We look forward to seeing how Pharrell will switch up the Speedy each season.—Aria Hughes

When Pharrell debuted his first Louis Vuitton collection back in June 2023, Damoflage was one of the cornerstones. The camo-inspired take on the house's signature Damier print was featured across a variety of items from coats to teddy bears. For Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2025, Pharrell introduced some more fun takes on the checkerboard pattern. The standout example leaned into the Earth theme present throughout the collection. Squares of green, brown, and grey created the continents of Africa and Asia on a blue jacket. It made for one of the best pieces of the entire presentation, something we can see collector's zeroing in on when this collection finally hits stores. Other outerwear saw the squares filled in to replicate snakeskin. The variation he played with the most was multicolored. It was used across bags, leather jackets, and accessories. Hopefully, Pharrell will continue to push Damier print into new directions moving forward. It makes for some of the most creative and fun designs each season. —Mike DeStefano

Designers can't get enough of rhinestones and pearls right now. Pharrell is no exception to this trend and he made sure to continue featuring the embellishments this season. We saw a handful of fur coats peppered with jewels. Similar to the tracksuit from his first collection, Pharrell also decked out various items in pearls. A tote bag was made entirely of pearls. Other jackets and shirts featured logos made of pearls. We aren't really sure how many people will be rocking a jewel-embellished fur coat anywhere else except a runway, but the pearl-adorned items will likely be some of the most-coveted. But seeing all the jewels in a Pharrell collection can't help but make us think about Pharrell's well-documented jewelry history. We pose the question: When is the Jacob and Co. jewelry collab finally hitting the LV runway?—Mike DeStefano

Soccer (sorry, futbol) is the world's game. So, it came as no surprise to see Pharrell lean into the sport for a bunch of designs. There were some obvious choices, like colorful soccer jerseys in leather and knit varieties. A new footwear silhouette resembled a pair of classic black leather soccer boots. The most unorthodox item was a shiny white leather coat with paneling that made it look like it was made of deconstructed soccer balls. Our favorites were the accessories that included a leather key chain and a classic brown monogram bag shaped like a soccer ball. Is using soccer for storytelling about the world a bit on the nose? Yes. But all of the pieces were executed beautifully so we can accept it. —Mike DeStefano

Pharrell's Louis Vuitton shows aren't just your average fashion shows. They are spectacles. So, as much as we understand not wanting celebrities to infiltrate the runways of every brand and replace real models, it's something we look forward to when it comes to Louis Vuitton. The first two shows had it. Close friends Pusha T and Malice, if you know, you know individuals from the fashion world like Hugo Mendoza, and Deion Sanders' sons Shedeur and Shilo all walked in Pharrell's first two shows. So, it was interesting to see him buck the trend this time around, especially because of how grandiose the presentation felt. Plus, there was no shortage of them in the crowd. It was cool to see NFL stars Lamar Jackson, Stefon Diggs, and Tyrod Taylor link up after the show or Central Cee playing his Nintendo DS as he was waiting for the rest of the seats to fill up. It would have been even cooler to see them hit the runway. —Mike DeStefano

At the end of the show, Pharrell walked out wearing a jacket composed of multiple snake skins in brown, beige, and green along with the Louis Vuitton print and a buttery beige leather on the sleeves. He styled it with a dark wash flared jean accessorized with an LV Western belt, a gold LV skateboard keychain, orange tinted aviator sunglasses, and a Speedy bag with a Chanel-inspired chain strap. It’s a silhouette that’s not too dissimilar from what he wore last season. It brings to mind a jacket Kool Moe Dee could have worn in the ‘80s or something Dapper Dan would have designed around the same time. But Pharrell’s jacket takes the approach to a different, interesting place. While we could see Pharrell wearing most of what went down the Damier grass runway, nothing felt as inventive or cool as the look he wore. He’s known for mixing and remixing different style codes (dandy, skate, flamboyant, etc.) through a very hip-hop lens. He’s helped generations reconsider how and why they wear the things they wear. But in general, while beautiful, the runway looks don’t reflect Pharrell’s ability to take disparate references and turn them into something completely new and true to him.—Aria Hughes

Most designers have signatures you expect each season. Pharrell has leaned into the Damier print, Damoflage, Speedy bags made of collapsible leather, rousing show music composed by him, celebrity runway cameos, and the inclusion of other organizations or artists (this season it was Air Afrique, a creative collective known for platforming African heritage). It’s a solid, expected approach, but because he is mostly playing with the same pieces and silhouettes each season, the overall effect can feel very wash, rinse, repeat. We hope he starts to explore new territories.

Pharrell’s great style and penchant for mixing and remixing different style codes hasn’t gone away, but nothing else in the collection felt like that. —Aria Hughes