Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton’s new Men’s Creative Director, explores the American frontier through his newest menswear show. The collection draws inspiration from the iconic workwear that shaped America when it was still in its infancy. Fine craftsmanship elevates these Western wardrobe staples and transforms traditionally utilitarian garments into high fashion. 

The Americana lens of this collection is extremely thorough as it is present from the designs down to the materials used in the embroidery. An essential item in any cowboy’s closet, cowboy hats made from leather and featuring belt-buckle hatbands, take over the runway, as the looks evolve from the everyday working man to the American dandy during the show with chaps and blanket coats transforming into vaquero jackets and suits. No matter the style, everything shown on the runway was adorned with Western imagery. These details consisted of original cowboy paintings, cacti chain stitches, floral embroideries, turquoise embellishment and so many more.

Collaboration was essential to this collection as it aimed to bring creatives from different backgrounds together to share in this vision. Artists from the Dakota and Lakota nations worked on creating accessories and developing the show’s scenery and soundtrack. It is easy for many to fall into a white-washed glamourization of the West when reflecting on it, so the intentional inclusion of the rich culture of Dakota and Lakota nations actively works to combat this popular narrative. Some bags are embroidered with a Dakota flower motif which symbolizes the beautiful roots of nature while other bags don hand-painted parfleche motifs and imagery. 

Another collaboration with the iconic American brand, Timberland, brought together Timberland’s classic designs and LV’s Italian factories to give us a luxury interpretation of the six-inch boot. The pull-on boot is 15 percent larger than the classic design and is infused with the prestige of the LV monogram. The monogram is presented on the brown leather ankle cuffs, lightly debossed on the nubuck material and all over the soles.

The ambiance on the show fully tied the collection together and portrayed the Western theme by using multiple mediums. The set consisted of a sprawling backdrop of a desert landscape that mirrors the painted seamless backdrops commonly used in classic Western movies in the 1920s and 1930s. The show was also enhanced by a filmic prelude capturing animator, Ron Husband, at work and a performance by the Native Voices of Resistance, a powwow group comprised of singers from Native American nations across North America. The soundtrack for the show also consisted of four original pieces which all featured Williams and collaborators (we’re looking at you, Miss Miley Cyrus.)