Louis Vuitton shut down the Louvre last night for the house’s FW25 show. Guests were greeted by a towering LV monogrammed cube housed just behind the gallery’s iconic glass pyramid and entered a circular runway featuring structures with frosted glass, which later revealed a collaboration between Pharrell Williams and Kenzo Creative Director Nigo, as the pair closed the show in a joint lap of honour. The two are friends and frequent collaborators who co-founded the cult labels Billionaire Boys Club and Icecream in 2003. On the front row, stars included Adrien Brody, Travis Scott, Callum Turner, Bradley Cooper, Victor Wembanyama, Stefon Diggs and Future. As guests took to their seats, an orchestra rose in the centre of the room and the members of L’Orchestre du Pont Neuf entered one by one to perform Nonuo Uematsu’s One Winged Angel (Final Fantasy VII) alongside three original tracks by Pharrell: Seventeen’s Bad Influence, The Weeknd and Playboi Carti’s Timeless, and a new track from Don Toliver and j-hope titled LV Bag, which closed out the show.

As Pharrell continues to foster a new creative vision for the heritage house, this season saw the designer paint a vision of the future through the lens of the past. At the centre of this season’s moodboard, and at the centre of the showspace, displayed in those glass cabinets, were Pharrell and Nigo’s extensive personal archives, alongside pieces from Louis Vuitton’s own history. A fusion of both designer’s lasting ties to subcultures across East and West, stamped across the collection was a series of ‘Phriendship’ graphics featuring Pharrell and Nigo’s faces, in honour of the pair’s two-decade-long friendship and creative dialogue.

Echoing the duo’s streetwear roots saw silhouettes reminiscent of the early 00s imbued with a modern twist, classic bomber jackets were exaggerated at the shoulders, monogrammed logos were imprinted on stonewashed denim and revere collared shirts and blazers were layered atop one another. The house’s affiliation with dandyism was felt in its impeccable tailoring with suiting co-ords built from baby-pink satin, pleated culotte shorts paired with cropped blazers, and traditional black ties worn with belted leather trenches and varsity jackets alike.

Camouflage, leopard and abstract landscapes decorated chunky knitwear, patterned denim and leather outwear – they were even painted onto models’ nails. Accessories allowed Pharrell to add an element of play to the collection as workwear gloves were crafted with paw-print palms, monogrammed leather bags were built in the shape of a lobster and sunglasses featured an ornamental trunk fastening. This season the brand’s classic trunks pushed by models down the runway (as has become the norm with Pharrell shows) were designed in collaboration with Japanese flower artist Azuma Makoto, built from acrylic glass in neon pink or entirely transparent. As Pharrell and Nigo took their final bow, these two long-time friends, artists and generational powerhouses are still making waves together two decades on.