It’s easy to dismiss creative director Pharrell Williams’ runway shows for Louis Vuitton as theatrics. They are—the man has made significant impact as a showman, after all—but they’re also much more than uninhibited pomp and circumstance.
The Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2025 menswear show felt grander than Williams’ previous shows. Perhaps it was the location: the Maison took over the rooftop of La Maison de l’Unesco where the Symbolic Globe sits surrounded by flags of the world’s nations. The lawn was transformed into a supersized Louis Vuitton Damier check—a motif that’s quickly become Williams’ favoured leitmotif interpreted collection after collection—and the celebrity guest list included Hollywood heavyweights the likes of Michael Fassbender, Colman Domingo, and Joel Edgerton to top Korean actors and K-pop idols such as Gong Yoo, GOT7’s Jackson Wang and BamBam, and The8 of SEVENTEEN.
But it might also be the fact that the Maison made full use of the location, positioning the Voices of Fire choir and L’Orchestre du Pont Neuf on the building’s sunken courtyards and performing live as models walked down the maze-like runway. After the show, I peered down the courtyard in front of where I was seated. It was the orchestra’s percussion section and the sounds produced boomed up towards the sky in joyous symphony.
Much has been said about how Williams is elevating and bringing to the fore Black and minority cultures during his time at Louis Vuitton. And that has been the case thus far. For Spring/ Summer 2025, the location was the perfect backdrop for the collection’s more universal approach—why be inspired and zero in on just one when the world is as diverse as it is. The LVERS ethos that’s been central to Williams’ driving force as a creative director is a universal one, connecting a likeminded, global community of individuals connected by the Louis Vuitton’s core values of discernment, savoir-faire and travel.
Like a love letter to humanity, the collection kicked things off with a muted palette—blacks, browns and beiges—that hinted at the grounding of shared human experience, before blooming into greens and blues, straight out of a satellite image of Earth. These tones weren’t just aesthetic choices; they underscored the idea of diversity and universal inclusion. Think tailored double-breasted suits, relaxed pyjama-inspired sets, and collarless leather jackets paired with a sense of boldness the Maison embodies. And then there was the printwork. Williams had already introduced a fresh take on the Damier motif with the Damoflage, but for Spring/Summer 2025 it’s been adapted into the Snake-o-flage, inspired by the graphics of python skin, and the Map-o-flage that aptly integrates with the world map.
Arguably the most universally unifying sport, football-inspired pieces appeared towards the end of the line-up. Bags took on the shape of footballs, while also translated into garments that fused the distinct pentagonal and hexagonal patterns with recognisable jerseys. Williams took it a step further with his first footwear inspired by football cleats: the LV Footprint Soccer shoes.
A host of other novel details were also introduced in the Spring/Summer 2025 menswear collection. Such as the Soft Leather Goods line that expands Williams’ interpretation of the iconic Speedy into a supple reimagining, and the relaunching of the Alma, the Christopher, the Neverfull and more in super supple leather, finished with aged VVN trimmings and decorated with brown Monogram.
At the end of the day, the entire collection is unified by the idea that as much as there are a lot of unique differences in the world, there are similarities too—like our love for sport, travel, and connection.
