Hong Kong
CNN
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Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton’s menswear creative director, hinted at the brand’s ambitions in Asia with a playful show under the lights of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor on Thursday night.
American musician and designer, in June Closing the Pont Neuf in Paris He continued his high-profile tenure with the label by presenting his latest looks against the backdrop of one of the world’s most iconic skylines to showcase the label’s debut collection.
The event featured models walking an outdoor runway on the Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong’s answer to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Celebrities such as Cantopop singer Anson Lo, Chinese boy band TNT, and South Korean actor Song Joong Ki attended.
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As models walked the catwalk, a drone flew through the sky, displaying the brand’s LVERS logo.
Williams said the show was about travel “from Hawaii to Hong Kong.” In an interview with CNN just a few hours ago, he said the collection was “very dandy-focused,” adding that it was expressed through a “sailor side” and a “resort side.” Ta.
Paying homage to the city’s maritime history, which the brand describes, the nautical-themed runway featured sailor-hatted musicians strumming ukuleles, sand-covered catwalks and digital displays showing crashing waves. Ta.
Models, including members of Hawaii’s surf community, strutted along the harborfront wearing striped suits, sailing jackets, fisherman-style sandals and tropical floral prints, with Williams’ relaxed silhouettes and embellishments on some of the outfits. It gave it the feel of high-end beachwear. Many of the looks were completed with navy accessories, including a raffia bucket hat and a Louis Vuitton Keepall 25 bag with hand-embroidered seashells.
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Musician Ma Siwei and actor Dylan Wang attended the Louis Vuitton men’s fashion show in Hong Kong, China.
The skies then filled with dozens of drones, and the show notes reveal the brand’s LVERS logo (a combination of the classic LV monogram and the word lover, combining the philosophy at the heart of Williams’ practice). After that, he appeared. take a bow.
“This is a luxury home, but this luxury home was built on a traveler, a world traveler,” he told CNN. “And here we have arrived in Hong Kong.”
The French label appointed Williams in February. death of his predecessor, Virgil Abloh. In addition to putting on a spectacular show with an orchestra and gospel choir at Paris Men’s Fashion Week, Williams has already reimagined some of the brand’s classics, such as a version of the alligator-skin Speedy bag. , a design that can only be used by selected people. Sold to a customer, the price is his $1 million (the bag’s nickname is “Millionaire Speedy”).
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Williams has a growing reputation for successfully reimagining Vuitton classics.
Asked to reflect on the pressures that come with a job at the top of the fashion world, Williams told CNN: You said pressure, I said joy. What is so difficult about pleasure? ”
Thursday’s event was Louis Vuitton’s first-ever pre-fall menswear show. Although the pre-fall collection is not considered as prestigious as the label’s spring/summer or fall/winter lines, the move nonetheless proved the importance of Hong Kong, and Asia as a whole, in the French fashion house’s expansion plans.
Louis Vuitton opened its first boutique in Hong Kong in 1979. Hong Kong residents now spend more per capita on luxury goods than anywhere else in the world, according to a market research firm. euro monitor. It has also traditionally been a popular destination for a wide range of luxury shoppers, as there is no sales tax in the region.
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A Louis Vuitton-branded junk boat sailed through Victoria Harbor as part of the show. This brand opened its first store in the city in 1979.
Earlier this week, Dior, which is part of Louis Vuitton’s parent company LVMH, also announced that it would unveil its men’s pre-fall collection at a private venue in Hong Kong early next year.
this It’s a coup of sorts for Hong Kong, which is working to restore its international reputation as a destination after years of the world’s toughest COVID-19 travel restrictions and the introduction of controversial regulations. You might also say that. national security law Critics say it threatens political freedoms and civil liberties.
In recent months, authorities have been trying to lure tourists back to Hong Kong with a “Hello Hong Kong” campaign that includes a giveaway of 500,000 free flight tickets.Put simply statement In a statement released on Tuesday, the Hong Kong Tourism Board described the Louis Vuitton event as “making fashion history.”
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Creative director Pharrell Williams stands on the Avenue of Stars promenade. The event was Louis Vuitton’s first fashion show in Hong Kong.
Held in collaboration with K11 Group, which operates malls alongside the Avenue of Stars and the region’s wider arts and design precinct Victoria Dockside, the runway was live-streamed across Hong Kong via digital billboards.
The show was also a continuation of Louis Vuitton’s efforts to tap into the lucrative Asian market. LVMH does not disclose the performance of individual brands, but the French conglomerate’s profit recovery This was partially fueled by China’s resumption of spending after the country restarted its economic activities after the coronavirus pandemic subsided.
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the label’s menswear division eschewed the digital version of Paris Men’s Fashion Week and instead presented its latest collection in mainland China. Then, under Abloh’s leadership, the brand showcased formal clothing, animal-themed streetwear, and bright block colors on the banks of Shanghai’s Huangpu River.
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Models walked the runway to a soundtrack featuring a ukulele version of Williams’ song “Airplane Tickets.”
On the other hand, Louis Vuitton’s women’s wear department first big show In April of this year, Jamsugyo Bridge in Seoul was transformed into an impressive runway in South Korea.
But beyond the region’s strategic importance, the choice of Hong Kong was personal to Williams. The 50-year-old feels he has received “incredible support” from the city over the years, and has held a number of collaborations and events with the city in recent years, including launching his own digital auction platform. This includes a private sale launched in 2017. jupiter and jeweler Lorraine Schwartz in March. “I wanted Hong Kong to be my second destination after Paris,” he said of the Louis Vuitton show schedule.
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The show was live-streamed across the city via digital billboards.
And after years of living with the pandemic, the Asian city feels “back to business,” Williams added.
“The slingshot has been pulled back as far as it can go, and (it’s) about to be let go…from a deep, serious decline to a very serious flow of energy,” he said. “You’ll see it in business and all areas, from fashion to finance.
“I think it’s very fortuitous that we were able to come here just as things were about to change.”
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified pop group TNT.