Streetwear's Best Duo Is Back, Will It Create Magic Again?
With everything that Pharrell has on his plate at the moment, you'd think that the multi-hyphenate creative would be hesitant to pick up any new projects. Well, you're wrong.
It appears that the pull of working with an old friend again was enough for him to start a new role as an advisor for Human Made.
Alongside being Louis Vuitton men's creative director, a skincare extraordinaire, and the owner of his own Humanrace brand, Pharrell will now also advise long-time friend and collaborator NIGO at his Human Made label — as was announced by the latter on January 11.
The two designers, who launched Billionaire Boys Club and ICECREAM together, have continued to collaborate on a range of projects since departing from the brands they founded together. Their joint ventures have included everything from sneaker collaborations to music to launching their own sake brand.
However, this is the first time that they have come together to work on a fashion brand since those Billionaire Boys Club days. It's the return of a dynamic duo that never really left.
A tried-and-tested partnership, could Pharrell's hiring bring new energy to the brand NIGO founded in 2010 as a more mature counterpart to BAPE?
Both designers are busy with their own roles at Louis Vuitton and KENZO respectively, so I would question how much time they can bring to this collaboration. But, based on Pharrell's short time at Louis Vuitton, he could be about to put Human Made back in the headlines more regularly.
Along with being a hugely successful musician, Pharrell's various endeavors in fashion have proven that he knows how to get chins wagging. Now, as the successor to the late Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton, he has been in the news left, right, and center.
Most recently, talk has been about the wild prices of his latest Louis Vuitton's collection, but Pharrell has been getting LV in the limelight for much more than just its six-figure jackets and seven-figure bags.
On the one end, its choices of Rihanna and LeBron James as campaign stars on billboards have gotten wide-spread acclaim while on the other he has been documenting the behind-the-scenes on his finsta or worn his most noteworthy items wherever possible to make sure nobody forgets about them.
Pharrell's ability to pull off these types of marketing ploys, which include grand spectacles alongside more organic and relatable content, is something that Human Made could make use of (as well as the design capabilities he's shown at LV, of course).
Human Made's take on all-American fashion rarely gets the attention it deserves. Sure, there are the NIGO streetwear stans who will show up for anything he does but, for the most part, it hasn't managed to foster the same level of clout as the designer's other projects — like BAPE or Billionaire Boys Club.
Now, with Pharrell on board full-time, the weight of his name alone will bring eyeballs to the brand. But if he manages to use his name to draw in more celebrity co-signs and news-worthy online content for Human Made, then NIGO's excellent work for the brand is bound to get more recognition.
Plus, with KAWS also working behind-the-scenes for Human Made, NIGO has enlisted a dream team to push the brand forward.
