Louis Vuitton appoints Pharrell Williams to men’s creative director

February 14, 2023

Pharrell Williams (Photo by Adam Rose/ABC)

The following is a press release from Louis Vuitton:

Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome Pharrell Williams as its new Men’s Creative Director, effective immediately. His first collection for Louis Vuitton will be revealed this June during the Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.

Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universes expand from music, to art, and to fashion – establishing himself as a cultural, global icon over the past twenty years. The way in which he breaks boundaries across the various worlds he explores aligns with Louis Vuitton’s status as a Cultural Maison, reinforcing its values of innovation, pioneer spirit and entrepreneurship.

“I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Men’s Creative Director. His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.” declares Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s Chairman and CEO.

Pharrell Williams Biography

Pharrell Williams is a visionary recording artist, producer, songwriter, philanthropist, fashion designer, and entrepreneur with 10B combined global music streams to date. He has been honored with 13 Grammy Awards, including 2004, 2014, and 2019 Producer of the Year, and ASCAP’s Golden Note Award in 2012. He has received two Academy Award nominations: for his original song “Happy” (from “Despicable Me 2”) and for Best Picture-nominated “Hidden Figures” (2016) as co-producer. Williams also received a Golden Globe nomination for co-scoring the film. In 2019, Williams received an Emmy nomination for his original song “Letter to My Godfather,” for Netflix’s “Black Godfather” about legendary music executive Clarence Avant. In 2020, Williams was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for his work as The Neptunes.

In 2018, Pharrell narrated Universal’s remake of the classic film “The Grinch,” authored the book “A Fish Doesn’t Know It’s Wet,” and released the Netflix priginal series “Brainchild” (2018) with his producing partner, Mimi Valdés. Other projects include “Dope” (2015), “Roxanne Roxanne” (2017), “Voices of Fire” (2020) and Amazon’s “Harlem” (which has been renewed for a second season_ and Lena Waithe’s “Rollin’” for HBO Max.

In 2019, Pharrell founded YELLOW, a non-profit working to even the odds for all youth through education, helping them realize their potential. In 2020, Williams launched Black Ambition, a non-profit initiative that provides a bridge to success for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs who are launching tech, healthcare, Web 3.0 and consumer products/services start-ups. A longtime advocate against racial injustice, Pharrell was an integral part in talks with Virginia Governor Northam about Juneteenth being a permanent paid state holiday. In April 2019, Williams launched his first SOMETHING IN THE WATER, a multi-day music festival and experience on the beach in his hometown of Virginia Beach. Last summer, Williams brought his SOMETHING IN THE WATER Music festival to Washington D.C. on Juneteenth Weekend (June 17 – 19). This April, SOMETHING IN THE WATER returns to Virginia Beach and will continue its mission spotlighting the community.

Pharrell excels as a fashion designer and entrepreneur with his Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream apparel among other brands. In the fall of 2019, Williams teamed up with David Grutman and opened both Swan and Bar Bevy in Miami’s Design District, and The Goodtime Hotel in 2021. In 2020, Pharrell founded Humanrace™, a product company with a mission to empower all individuals in their pursuit of well being across product and people.

A longtime advocate against racial injustice, Pharrell was an integral part in the talks with Virginia Governor Ralph Northam about Juneteenth being a permanent paid state holiday and continued to make the push for it to become a national holiday.

Henri Bendel going out of business by January 2019

September 14, 2018

by Yvette Thomas

L Brands Inc.—the parent company of luxury retailer Henri Bendel and lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret and beauty retailer Bath & Body Works—has announced that it is permanently shuttering Henri Bendel by January 2019. All 23 Henri Bendel stores, as well as Henri Bendel’s online business, will be closed. Employees have been given a choice to interview for other L Brands jobs or accept severance pay. Henri Bendel had been in business since 1895. The flagship Henri Bendel on Fifth Avenue in New York City opened in 1913.

According to Marketwatch, L Brands stock rose 5.58% after it was announced that Henri Bendel was going out of business. Marketwatch also reports: “Henri Bendel’s 2018 revenue to total $85 million and its operating losses to total $45 million. L Brands stock is down more than 52% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.03% is up 8.6% for the period.”

L Brands reported $12.6 billion in revenue for 2017, so Henri Bendel’s shuttering represents a small fraction of the L Brands’ business. However, Victoria’s Secret has reportedly been struggling and is on industry watch lists as a retailer that could be in big trouble by the year 2020.

Henri Bendel is one of many fashion retailers that have been experiencing massive closures in 2018.

DreamMaker is selling Passport to 50, an ultimate luxury trip, for $13,875,000

February 2, 2017

DreamMaker
(Photo courtesy of DreamMaker)

Experiential travel boutique DreamMaker has designed a trip around the globe aboard a privately outfitted Boeing 767 for its ultra-high net worth clientele.  Passport to 50 offers the purchasing client and 50 friends and family of the client to fly in tandem on a second Boeing Business Jet.  Offered at $13,875,000, this DreamMaker experience is slated for August 2017, covering 20 cities in 20 days. Highlights in the air include a $500,000 charity poker tournament with the a top-ranked poker player, an in-flight yoga session, a fashion show, and a master sommelier.

According to a DreamMaker press release:

DreamMaker has appointed hypnotherapist April Norris to develop a holistic program that integrates cutting-edge wearable sleep technology with alternative wellness techniques such as hypnotherapy, Reiki healing, Ayurvedic medicine, and the attention of a Doctor of Acupuncture.

DreamMaker
(Photo courtesy of DreamMaker)

World of Diamonds Group was commissioned to create the trip’s most luxurious amenity: a set of 18-karat gold swizzle sticks set with white and blue diamonds worth a total of $1 million.  Crafted into a spinning globe atop the 50 swizzle sticks are 20 white sparklers, each representing every city landing of Passport to 50.  One rare fancy blue diamond, a specialty of the diamond mining conglomerate, evokes the blue skies traversed on this trip.

In line with the 50 signature DreamMaker experiences, London’s Hotel 41 will be the first in the world to completely rebrand its identity to “Hotel 50” and accommodate the unique story with its famously personalized service.  The hotel will chip out its marble tile in the foyer, commission newly monogrammed bed and bath linens, and a raise a “Hotel 50”  flag.  Other ground highlights include 50 monks’ blessings amidst an inundation of 50,000 lotus petals.

The Passport to 50 experience directly benefits children around the world through experiential giving, such as the distribution of 2,500 bicycles to enable rural children in Cambodia to attend school, the provision of clean drinking water for 50,000 at-risk children in the Philippines, as well as building “fun centers” for 50,000 children battling life-threatening illnesses in the United Kingdom.

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