In a way, the Louis Vuitton Autumn/Winter 2025 menswear runway show was somewhat of a déjà vu. Nigo—founder of A Bathing Ape, and artistic director of Kenzo—has collaborated with Louis Vuitton before during the late Virgil Abloh's time with the Maison in 2020. It was so successful that it spawned another drop the year after.

This new iteration of a Nigo collaboration with Louis Vuitton felt a bit different.

As a whole, it was more of a dialogue between two friends and creatives. While Nigo's first collaboration with Louis Vuitton felt like he was given free rein to do whatever that he wanted, the Autumn/Winter 2025 version saw a more deliberate approach for a creative volley. There's a distinct Pharrell Williams-look to the entire collection—marked by relaxed suiting, workwear-tailoring pairings, and embellishments—that were then peppered with Nigo-isms the likes of Japanese-inspired treatments and fabrications with a whole load of denim.

What's interesting to note was the more restraint use of loud logos. Sure, there were still plenty of Damier motifs going around in a number of permutations—Williams is big on making the Damier his era-defining signature—everything else was kept more pared back; the collection is easily Williams' most wearable one yet.

Another Williams trope is the show's soundtrack that he produces each time (how does he find the time to do all that, I want to know). This time around, a couple of K-pop's finest each had a hand in hyping up the atmosphere of the runway show. BTS' j-hope—who was, expectedly, mobbed by just about every editor in attendance—contributed to "LV Bag" together with Don Toliver, while SEVENTEEN's "Bad Influence" seemed to be a crowd favourite.

The show ended with Williams and Nigo making their way around the circular show space. And as they passed grey lightboxes (there were a total of 24 of them) positioned at intervals on the runway, each lit up to reveal its contents. The lightboxes contained archive collections belonging to the Maison, personal collections of Nigo and Williams, as well as those by personal collectors. The pieces are now open for bidding on Williams' digital-only auction platform Joopiter.

The fit: Unlike previous collections by Williams, the Louis Vuitton Autumn/Winter 2025 menswear collection was conceptualised around more familiar menswear staples. There was little deviation from the tried-and-tested, with less gimmicks and a more concerted effort to focus on craft and tailoring. This in turn provided the perfect canvas for the Japanese craft techniques and motifs employed to shine through even more. Shippo-weaving was incorporated into the Maison's flower emblem to create a encircled diamond stitched pattern, while kasuri-weaving was used in tailoring jacquard and silk-wool outerwear.

There's a stylistic flair in the way that tailored pieces are paired with workwear-inspired separates. Old-school dandy codes are mixed in with a sense of functionality that's not only pleasing to the eye, but also sensible in today's context.

The details: I did say that the collection is a bit more pared back in terms of logos, but that doesn't mean that both Nigo and Williams skimped on the details. For one, the embellished denim in look 38 was beautifully executed as an interpretation of the Maison's flower emblem. There was also a nod to the iconic 2021 collaboration with Stephen Sprouse but instead of the just splashing "Louis Vuitton" in highlighter hues, this new interpretation was done in black and white and incorporated words such as "LVERS", "TOKYO" and more in both French and Japanese.

The wave-like effect that Nigo first conceptualised for the 2020 collaboration with Louis Vuitton made a return, but this time, skewed vertically and consisting of a patchwork of the Maison's motifs. And for those crazed over the bag charm trend, there plenty on the runway, including a leather charm shaped like a lobster claw.

To commemorate the collection's collaborative nature, a number of pieces across ready-to-wear and accessories feature the graphic renderings of both Nigo's and William's heads—perfect for anyone who's a stalwart fan of both figures.

Three exceptional looks: Look 18's mishmash of Louis Vuitton motifs that somehow looked very well put together; the aforementioned look 38; and look 66's broken embroidery look that's stunning upclose.

The takeaway: A collaboration is only as good as the dialogue that went into it; this was good.

View the full Louis Vuitton Autumn/Winter 2025 menswear collection in the gallery below.