When Pharrell Williams debuted a bold yellow hoodie emblazoned with sparkly Chanel insignia in November, we knew his collaboration with the French house would shake up usual proceedings in the salon. With street art at the core of the capsule, the music maestro has taken the brand’s signature CC and N°5 logos and reimagined them as graffiti and embellished motifs. As well as unisex hoodies and Tees in a rainbow palette, there’s rhinestoned costume jewellery, terry towelling bucket hats, bum bags, trainers and logo-ed belts. It’s a street fashionista’s paradise, and an edit that has entry price points for all Chanel fans.
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…and of course, Karl named the collection #CHANELPHARRELL @chanelofficial #ad
“Gabrielle Coco Chanel didn’t see partitions, and it’s interesting, because neither did the brand when it came to giving me a shot,” says Williams. “[Chanel] is not afraid of these things, just like [Gabrielle] wasn’t afraid. There doesn’t need to be boundaries as long as you can hold onto the heritage and continue to push it, like Karl always [did]. We don’t need walls, we need bridges.”
The optimistic mood is echoed by models Alton Mason, Anok Yai, Adesuwa Aighewi and Soo Joo Park, who all enthuse about the heavy jewellery and loafers in the clip. “Pharrell has had a huge impact on popular culture and hip-hop culture,” smiles Mason in between takes of the futuristic campaign shots, which are inspired by the anime film Akira. “He is a genius. It’s crazy to be working with him.”
For Chanel’s first guest designer in the history of the brand, Pharrell has certainly come up frontin’.
The Chanel-Pharrell collection will be available exclusively in Seoul on March 28 at the opening of the new Chanel boutique, and then in certain Chanel shops around the world from April 4.
Originally published on British Vogue
Editor
Alice Newbold