Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton is all about disruption in the context of tradition; breaking the norm while paying homage to the house’s storied style codes and history. The latest venture for Louis Vuitton’s footwear branch is no exception to the rule, rooted heavily in what Thibo Denis calls “disturbing the rules.”Denis and Mathias Patillon sat down with Hypebeast to share more about the step-by-step design process – challenges, creative inspirations, feedback from Pharrell, and all. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HYPEBEAST (@hypebeast)Where did the design process start?Thibo Denis: We started the design of this pair, like the idea of a skate cup sole shoe, before I even joined. It was when P joined LV. At the show a year ago, friendship was a big theme for P and NIGO. We brought some ideas to the table, and P had a specific idea [about the shoe], so that’s where the project started.Mathias Patillon: The idea, based on that, was “Skateboard P.” That’s such an important thing for him. He was asking for that type of shoe. We were also looking for a new category for us, and this shoe is particularly interesting in terms of proportion and detailing. We can have all of the LV DNA, both old and from Pharrell. The idea is to be super playful, compared to past, more tech models.Denis: Pharrell wanted something that would be specific to both his aesthetic and the LV aesthetic. There’s this idea that the left is right and the right is left. So you wouldn’t really see the shape of your right foot or left foot. Already, with this, he had a very specific idea of something that was a little big bigger than a classic cap sole shoe. Every detail was so important. It was all around the codes of the house. Which LV are we going to write? Which monogram are we going to use? We brainstormed about our first memories of LV sneakers, like during Marc Jacobs’ time.Patillon: Back in the nineties, when we would skate. That was interesting. We wanted to elevate that with nice leather and suede; those were specific requests from Pharrell.
