Last night, Louis Vuitton took over the rooftop of La Maison de l’UNESCO to debut Pharrell Williams’ SS25 collection, continuing his LVers journey in a celebration of global citizenry. Built in 1958 in the name of world peace, the site provided symbolic grounds to celebrate the diverse creative community that defines LV. In the lead-up to the show, attendees received an LV-branded Apple AirTag – ensuring that no matter where we go, our LV-monogram luggage always returns. As guests took to their seats and Pharrell’s star-studded front row of Michael Fassbender, Colmon Domingo, Stormzy and Central Cee (we could go on) got comfortable, a brass orchestra delivered a composition written by Pharrell himself, Triumphus Cosmos. Focusing on macro and micro views of humanity, Pharrell “celebrates the humans that co-inhabit the Earth” – read the show notes, with the collection titled ‘LE MONDE EST À VOUS’ translating to ‘The world is yours.’

A striking series of all-black looks opened the show in sumptuous velvet outerwear, embossed tracksuits, sheer knitwear and sweeping leather coats. As the colour palette melted into neutral tones built to reflect the spectrum of human skin tones, looks transitioned into brown tartan suiting, woven materials posed as animal hides on jackets, and faux fur coats embellished with crystals – glistening in harmony with the Eiffel Tower’s iconic light show above. Playing on the archetypal tropes of travellers saw a modern-day dandy unfold, wearing pilot-inspired bomber jackets that transitioned into flight suits and camionneur-collared knitwear alongside slender double-breasted coats and flared trousers reminiscent of uniforms worn by diplomats. “Activating the Maison’s mind-expanding travel gene,” the show notes read, “the collection illustrates the degrees of similarities that bind us together across the globe.”

In keeping with the global theme, Pharrell’s Western tropes introduced at the house’s FW24 show were also not forgotten as models donned stetsons and neckerchiefs slung around necks, while denim was printed with the show’s title ‘LE MONDE EST À VOUS.’ This season saw graphics and patterns made in collaboration with Air Afrique, the African-French cultural platform dedicated to the expansion of Afro-diasporic arts, resulting in a new iteration of the Damoflage – the new classic spliced from Damier and camouflage – adapted into a Snake-o-Flage motif inspired by the python scales. The print debuted not just on apparel but on the giant LV trunks models wheeled down the runway and on a line of small leather goods which saw classic monogrammed bags take new forms.

In a collection that intended to give us the world, Louis Vuitton successfully painted a portrait of its global community – offering us a one-way ticket into Pharrell’s evolving vision. As the show came to a close and the designer took his bow, Falling Up by Adekunle, Pharrell and Nile Rodgers boomed through the speakers, leaving us with the lyrics “When you see me salute, I be kinging,” as a parting farewell.