Between the skylines of the Hong Kong's Central and Tsim Sha Tsui, and the Victoria Harbour in the middle, Pharrell Williams created a minor spectacle of a show with his second LV collection that was homage to the sailor. Brilliant
At eight o'clock this evening, when the Louis Vuitton men's pre-fall 2024 show was scheduled to start, it rained heavily here. The downpour made our surroundings a little cooler, the better to watch the livestream of the Louis Vuitton men pre-fall 2024 show. At ten to eight (we were not expecting the show to start on time), there were 48,311 online viewers, waiting to be wowed by the show. A message that appeared below the YouTube screen announced, "Waiting for Louis Vuitton". When the show started, some 22 minutes later, the waiting fans dropped to 44 059. Until something happened on our screen, we could only watch a video footage of Victoria Harbour and part of the runway, on loop. Unmistakable was the junk with blue sails of LV monogram sailing in the black waters. Clicked, no doubt, but a sight nonetheless. There was no doubt considerable expense was lavished on the show. Pharrell Williams has that clout and the taste for the splash.
According to AccuWeather, the temperature in HK earlier in the evening was 23-degrees Celsius. It was not too warm. The Avenue of Stars, a promenade on Tsim Sha Tui, was decked up as semblance of Waikiki beach (certainly not Repulse Bay) for Mr Williams's second LV show and his first pre-fall. Even when the Avenue sat next to the sea, LV set designers saw it necessary to dress the runway as a littoral affair, with video screens underfoot that showed waves lapping at an indistinct shore. There were token heaps of what looked like sand on the sides, too. Earlier in the day, "leaked" images were circulating on social media that showed the runway to be rather "narrow", and the ottoman seating was merely two-row deep. Hongkongers were surprised. Perhaps they were expecting the Pont Neuf, site of Mr William's overrated, overstuffed debut show? Where they hoping to see golf buggies? When Mr Williams took to the runway at the end of the presentation to acknowledge the admiration of the guests, the purpose of the cramp space was clear: he could be thronged and his bodyguard could push people away.
And it is possible that the attendees wanted to see the Happy man in person, not the bland, feeble clothes. Mr Williams's first collection for LV was a yawner, despite the rousing runway distractions. Five months later, he has not snapped his fingers, and the somnolent effects of even more lacklustre clothes won't let up. Did we really need to see more varsity jackets, even if they were decorated to appear ready for a beach stall in Phuket? Does satiation not exist in the LV design studio? Or, Hawaiian shirts with matching shorts to affirm your spring break status? Or, lame sailor looks that Mr Williams's pal Nigo already served last year for Kenzo. Sure, this is pre-fall, a season when extremely commercial clothes are usually planned, but must they look as if Miami rent boys dreaming of Rodeo Drive were engaged to contribute ideas to the collection? For a long time, the LV men's line has sacrificed its French provenance for static American so-so. It didn't help that LV accepted a cast of models who can't pull off banal, unappealing clothes. Were they hoping that the Hong Kong skyline could be the better show?
We kept reminding ourselves that there is the believe that design does not matter. For a long time, it's about perceived desirability. And hoods of tops, for example, even if they splay in the rear to become a sailor collar, can be reborn again and again. Mr Williams is a musician; he knows how to hack tunes or to churn out melodies that sell and can be hummed repeatedly, even years later. That he could have this knack applied to fashion—rather that design—is apropos to his role at LV. He was not hired to win any awards (leave that to JW Anderson), but to help LVMH remain the most powerful luxury conglomerate that it has become. In the show notes of the collection, Pharrell Williams said, paying token homage to the city that hosted him, "It was inspired by the idea of a businessman in Hong Kong who has decided to spend a week or so in Hawaii on holiday. But in the middle of his trip, he has to go back to Hong Kong for one day for a meeting he couldn't move." We think he meant a business man in Chicago.
Screen shot (top): Louis Vuitton/YouTube. Photos: Louis Vuitton
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