Memory and future are the two key concepts behind the development of Louis Vuitton’s new Men’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection. Creative director Pharrell Williams invites his friend NIGO to tell a new artistic vision of fashion, and to do it together. The musical background of the two is what first brings them together, then comes the creative vision of clothing. The story shared by both of them is the closeness to the world of Y2K streetwear, but represented in a way that is always unprecedented, different and personal, ranging from collegiate looks to functional workwear, all reinterpreted in a modern way. Reflecting on the importance of one’s roots opens the dialogue between Japan and America, home of their cultural roots. The entire collection pays homage to this unique contamination between different cultures, thoughts, customs and traditions. Memory draws on the archive, the real, while the future awakens the parenthesis of the dream that cannot disregard the nature of human beings. All the work presented is nothing less than a full realization and expression of the much cherished LVERS philosophy, which describes the Louis Vuitton world as a community of like-minded characters in terms of interests and aesthetics, and a deep focus on heritage characters such as savoir-faire and travel.
The silhouettes instinctively refer back to the 2000s aesthetic, but this time the tailored suits are revisited, the elegance of the modern dandy highlights the exchange of aesthetic codes between what is the sporty and street world, and sophisticated elegance. The creative and evolutionary process of the pieces presented within the défilé is reduced to the bone, to the essential, everything is represented by the strong material value of the product. Shapes are enhanced in volumes and cuts, soft or well-structured depending on the fabric used, details are technical and handcrafted, and the once-classic lines of tailoring are casual and fresh, youthful. Colors are true to tradition, while the iconography of the Maison is totally rethought. Japanese techniques and motifs come in to merge with elements of history and tradition. The Monogram Dandy mixes the Maison’s floral emblem with the shippo weaving technique at its core, giving a circled diamond pattern; the Dandy Damier is inspired by the textile motifs of tea ceremonies; the sartorial jacquard features the boron repair technique or kasuri weaving; the Cherry Blossom damoflage evokes cherry blossoms through applied yarns; and the Cherry Blossom Paris/Fuji motif depicts the two locations embellished with yarns and crystals. On the other hand, the color tones employed are warm and welcoming, fully referencing the concept of home, origin and root. Muted shades of canvas and denim, leather tints illuminated by touches of pink to recall the iconic Japanese cherry blossoms, camouflage presented in different variations, leopard and polka dot prints, lettering patterns and landscape abstractions.
Accessories celebrate in all their forms the creative union between Pharrell Williams and NIGO. The bags feature new colors of the checkered pattern, sometimes overwritten in black by LOUIS VUITTON and LVERS in French and Japanese. Some color combinations are intended to create direct references to Eastern traditions, some evoking their ceramics, some abstract paintings, some embroidery or patches. Japanese artist Azuma Makoto, on the other hand, is entrusted with the reworking of the Courrier Lozine 110 trunk. The language of flora is at the center, his entire practice questions the eternity and fragility of the ephemeral, and that is why the transparent acrylic, which allows one to see inside and discover the contents, in a kind of going beyond. All this reflects timelessness. Sunglasses, hats, ties and bandanas are presented with the recurring motifs of the collection. There are proposals in denim, others in knit, still others in leather or fur, or in silk. These details are complemented by gold and silver chains decorated with Monogram elements, maxi charms, crystal or pearl details. While the shoes are almost exclusively made of leather and, along with the boots have chunky, almost bulky shapes, the LV ButterSoft sneakers were unveiled in fifty color variants.
The display at the center of the Cour Carrée du Louvre is curated by Wonderwall, a Japanese creative design studio, which presented creations made from recycled wood. The environment is a clear and direct evocation of the Maison’s archives, the showcases set up display creations from past pieces or private collections. Everything collected is intended to represent a specific moment in Louis Vuitton’s history, a precise concept, a phenomenon of time, an experience that object itself carried within. All this serves the viewer to have a critical eye on what was, what is, and what will be in terms of artistic and aesthetic impact, and evolution. Conversation is thus the key, between Pharrell Williams and NIGO, between past and future, between Japanese customs and American culture, between creative convergences that enabled the entire creative process. Like an animal pollination, the collection launches references of various kinds aimed at creating new life and new sap.
