Louis Vuitton has named multitalented singer-songwriter-philanthropist Pharrell Williams creative director of its menswear division, replacing the late Virgil Abloh, the company said Tuesday.

鈥淧harrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universes expand from music, to art and to fashion 鈥� establishing himself as a cultural, global icon over the past 20 years,鈥� the luxury house said in a statement.

Word on the appointment first broke in The Wall Street Journal and Le Figaro.

The 鈥淗appy鈥� singer is a 13-time Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee with experience working with luxury brands and designers like the late Karl Lagerfeld.

The appointment is effective immediately. Williams鈥� first collection is scheduled to be shown during Paris Men鈥檚 Fashion Week in June.

The position had been left vacant since November 2021, when Abloh died of cancer at age 41. He was a groundbreaking designer and tastemaker known for merging streetwear and high fashion.

Abloh鈥檚 ubiquitous, consumer-friendly presence in culture was wide-ranging and dynamic. Some compared him to Jeff Koons. Others hailed him as his generation鈥檚 Lagerfeld, Chanel鈥檚 longtime creative director who died in 2019. Abloh was the first Black director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, one of France鈥檚 most storied fashion houses.

After Abloh鈥檚 death, the brand carried on with splashy men鈥檚 shows, largely without a creative director. Abloh, a DJ and founder of the brand Off-White, turned the job at Louis Vuitton into that of 鈥渃urator,鈥� rather than simply 鈥渄esigner,鈥� as he expanded his interests into housewares, art, jewelry, industrial design and architecture.

Williams collaborated with the luxury group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) in 2004 and 2008. He had a massively popular sneaker collaboration with Chanel in 2017 and a unisex clothing collection in 2019 that he designed with Lagerfeld. He also has his own fashion brands, including Billionaire Boys Club and Icecream.

鈥淗is creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter,鈥� the brand鈥檚 new chairman and CEO, Pietro Beccari, said in the statement.

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By Leanne Italie

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS