Pharrell unveils glimpse of his Louis Vuitton collection starring pregnant Rihanna

As the countdown to the musician-turned-designer's debut menswear show begins, the hype machine is in overdrive

Pharrell Williams shared a poster of Rihanna wearing Louis Vuitton on his Instagram page. Photo: Pharrell Williams / Instagram

The media machine around Louis Vuitton is gearing up to full speed ahead of Pharrell Williams's much anticipated menswear debut on Tuesday.

Hot on the heels of the Louis Vuitton Keepall bag campaign starring singer J-Hope, in which the BTS star dances for the camera, Williams unveiled a billboard poster on his Instagram page yesterday, giving a peek of his first collection for the brand.

Captioned “Louis Vuitton Men: Spring/Summer 2024”, the image stars a very pregnant Rihanna.

Clad in select items from the new collection, including what looks to be a pixelated, oversized leather jacket, Rihanna is holding multiple Vuitton bags. Williams is also in the photo, wearing what appears to be clothes from his new collection.

The multi-hyphenated Williams – who lists producer, designer, singer and humanitarian among the many roles on his CV – is a master of hype, and the timing of these stories has helped to build traction online ahead of his big debut.

The timing of the J-Hope campaign, for example, is not coincidental, but rather an elegant way to create a buzz around the bags with beautiful imagery. Williams’s Instagram post, meanwhile, offers a look at his first solo collection for the label – and the first for the house by a named designer since the untimely death of Virgil Abloh – and also stars Rihanna, meaning it's almost guaranteed to go viral.

Well known for her credible fashion credentials, Rihanna is usually first to pick up on the next big trend and difficult-to-wear designers, so getting her on board was a smart move. By revealing the image on Instagram, Williams also makes it personal – showing he has support from fashionable friends. The message is loud and clear – this is a hot collection and we are all going to want a piece.

In addition, the auction house Sotheby's has just announced an upcoming sale in conjunction with Louis Vuitton. Featuring 22 one-off Vuitton bags, each hand-decorated by an artist, the Artycapucines collection will be auctioned between June 28 and July 12. With estimates range from Dh64,320 to Dh96,480, the money raised will benefit various charities and NGOs.

Presumably, this has been scheduled for months, but making the announcement just days ahead of Williams's debut, feels like it was intentional.

Then there is the controversial Brooklyn art collective MSCHF – the group behind those big red boots that took over the internet a few months ago – that has created a nano Louis Vuitton handbag, smaller than the width of a human hair.

A minute version of the Louis Vuitton OnTheGo bag, now measuring just 657 x 222 x 700 microns, is green, semi-translucent and can only be seen through a microscope. Chosen because the shape and design make it legible at such a micro scale, MSCHF member Kevin Wiesner told The New York Times: “Pharrell loves big hats, so we made him an incredibly small bag.”

Called the Microscopic handbag, it was set to be part of the upcoming Just Phriends sale, curated by Colette co-founder Sarah Andelman, for Williams's auction site Joopiter. The Just Phriends auction will have a public preview next week during Paris Men's Fashion Week, but the MSCHF bag will not be included.

History may be repeating itself for the company. In 2021, MSCHF used Hermes Birkin bags to make a pair of Birkenstock sandals, despite not being sanctioned by either company. If MSCHF didn't get permission from Vuitton for the Microbag project, this might be the reason the bag was removed from the site.

However, another option is that Williams was aware of this art piece on his site, and knowing the news it would generate, left it on for as long as he could.

With four different stories all showcasing bags – a key product sector for Louis Vuitton – even with one having such clear copyright infringements, there must be plenty of people at the brand's HQ presumably enjoying the adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity.

As the clock counts down the last few days until Williams's menswear debut, where all eyes will be on the maison, being under the spotlight a little early is certainly no bad thing.