Dispatch Nº1: Pharrell, Pont Neuf & The Awesome Might of the Producer's Eye.
How to build an interconnected luxury behemoth.
Welcome to The Society of the Spectacle Newsletter. This a weekly extension of my freelance consultancy and exploration (subscription free!) of how luxury, fashion, and lifestyle brands market themselves. All with a (primarily) men’s consumption bias.
A space to be both narrow on subjects and broad in more comprehensive connection points. Specifically on how business and culture shape brands (and how we shape them).
The first post - is probably a perfect version of WHAT is happening within marketing for Luxury brands right now.
The power of interconnectedness.
Specifically, how interconnectedness is a modern-day idea of ‘the spectacle’ and is at the heart of a new age for the world’s biggest luxury brand - Louis Vuitton.
If you haven’t been paying attention, the post-Virgil Mens Artistic Director spot was filled by Pharrell. As the (relative) shock of the news abated, the ambition of the appointment became clear. One of the world's most well-connected and interesting creative ‘slash’ talents was going to run (one part) the biggest luxury brand in the world. Interest was sparked.
As the various profiles to support the show day have pointed out, this was 20 years plus in the making. And the hiring made even more sense when you appreciated that, at this point, the clothes and leather goods aren’t the only thing that power interest in the brand. Indeed, this is true of the Men’s division. Where cultural connectivity, established by Kim Jones and supercharged by Virgil, is quite clearly the objective.
In this logic, Pharrell is the one to realize that dream of connectivity fully. To turn, as Vuitton was dubbed in the BoF teaser of the show, into a fully functional' cultural brand.’ And redefine the designer's role into that of a producer and, in some ways, a curator.
While the pre-show press has centered on the show, the brand’s journey to get to this point, and of course, the oversized Rihanna Billboard, it’s not where my interest lies.
I’ve been more fascinated with how Pharrell himself has deployed the various tentacles of his vast creative empire to do two things.
Firstly, how truly (in)credible and diverse his creative world is to elevate his resonance and, by proxy, the show. And secondly, use that variety of influences to draw other brands and creators into this wider interconnected universe. All to support the creation and manifestation of Vuitton as this stated cultural brand.
The arrangement of these elements reminded me of Ana Andjelic’s ‘four models for brand growth.’ Specifically, the DJ Model of Growth. With (almost) unlimited funds, this is a perfect way to attempt this model in nearly real-time. As a good producer, he knows how, where, when, and with whom to collaborate with.
The heart of this effort has centered on leveraging Joopiter.
Established last year by Pharrell, the cultural artifact & auction platform has moved seamlessly from selling Pharrell’s grails (From his storage units) to selling other collaborators’ possessions and positioning itself as a larger cultural artifact enterprise.
So what better way to boost Joopiter as a relevant platform and boost Pharrell’s producer tastes than connect it directly to Vuitton and the overall collaboration strategy?
' Just Phriends’ reveals the awesome firepower of that collaboration Death Star. To quote the press release (words in bold are my emphasis):
"JOOPITER reveals the 61 lots that comprise Just Phriends: an auction and retail experience assembled from the orbit of founder Pharrell Williams and curated by longtime friend and collaborator Sarah Andelman - the visionary behind the legendary Parisian concept store Colette (1997-2017).
Just Phriends will be open for global bidding on JOOPITER.com from June 19 to 27, 2023. The lots are a mix of rare artworks, culturally-provenant objects, and exclusive interdisciplinary collaborations spanning fine art, high jewelry, furniture design, fashion, and objects. Most works are bespoke, unseen, or created especially for this auction.”
If you’re going to collaborate, make sure you do it with the absolute best to do it (And Colette WAS the best to do it). The list of collaborators is who’s who in this world. Cementing the producer is the ultimate act of creativity and providing a non-subtle response to potential nay-sayers.
But the real highlight of ‘Just Phriends’ is what MSCHF brings to the table.
MSCHF is the modern-day spectacle incarnate. A mixture of art world agitprop blended with ravenous, ridiculous modern consumer tastes. A business that specializes in the funhouse mirror of contemporary cultural commentary. Are its notorious big red boots making fun of the wearer? Or the viewer?
It's all a spectacle, either way, you look at it.
This perspective and idea immediately set the stage for something bigger (and smaller). A microscopic Louis Vuitton bag, barely the size of a pinprick. A ‘how did they do that’ technical achievement, a love letter to Vuitton, a sly dig at consumer tastes. (Squint, and you’ll miss it). Through Pharrell’s platform, the brand immediately becomes in on the joke - we’re a $100B brand, and we KNOW you’d buy it if you could, no matter what it is.
MSCHF, in its PR release, said that Vuitton did not authorize the bag. While that might be true, housed within Joopiter, it immediately gives the project meaning, value, and authority. A grail can be microscopic. Consumption sits under our skin. The Vuitton bag was the amuse-bouche to a larger rollout, playing out across Fashion Week. As the PR rollout crescendoes, new details emerge. The ever-excellent Jon Caramanica teased out this detail in his NYTimes profile. This shows how ‘detourment,’ similar to MSCHF, is central to some of the ideas Pharrell is playing with:
"(Pharrell) is most tickled by the opportunity to innovate on the Speedy, which he is remaking in several primary colors, and also in an exaggerated, oversize silhouette. A yellow Speedy in meltingly soft leather sat on the pool table that serves as an impromptu work space in the atelier, almost slumping under its own very lightweight.
“I want to give you that same experience that you get when you go to Canal Street, a place that has appropriated the house for decades, right?” Mr. Williams said. “Let’s reverse it. Let’s get inspired by the fact that they’ll make some colorways that the house has never made. But then, let’s actually make it the finest of leather.”
While Joopiter certainly cements the producer’s eye at the top end of the market, tying cultural artifacts into Vuitton’s world, all good producers know you need a hit. And as one of the architects’ of ‘Get Lucky,’ Pharrell knows how to deliver that.
To connect to a broader mass audience, Humanrace, Adidas Originals are launching its cafe simultaneously, working on none other than another Samba collaboration. The Adidas shoe that’s become a monster success once again.
Would it be a shock to see Sambas on the catwalk? No, but the mere association gives it extra clout and momentum and is elevated its relationship (and assumed rarity) with Pharrell. Another tentacle part of the collaboration universe. Brands mashing together tropes and ideas. Again, with the producer’s eye for interconnected, pulling it all together.
This high/low niche/mass dynamic is the hallmark of the successful interconnected strategy. Deployed by the biggest in the business, for better or worse, these creators understand and pull every lever possible to shape narratives. Interconnectedness is a superpower. Fueled by celebrity and a keen eye for cultural alignment. Gobbling up attention and dollars at every turn.
But this interconnectedness begets a bigger question - it may be impossible to answer after one show, but worth posing nonetheless.
What is the end game here? And what, indeed, does being a cultural brand mean for Louis Vuitton?
The interconnected strategy is impressive; the joy that Pharrell shares in his various interviews is hard to deny and take as anything other than genuine. But.. I still don’t understand a larger strategy of what cultural brand means for this Vuitton beyond simply big.
Shaping media engagement is one way of shaping a cultural conversation. Still, the reason you deploy a producer in this role is not just their taste but their ability to connect the dots. Vuitton, the Men’s shows, will have to move beyond simply existing in one moment. Eventually, they’ll have to shape and develop ideas on a more frequent cadence. They will have to accommodate other brand elements to gain this definition with cultural brand ethos.
If the stated objective is clear, the show must surely act as the beginning of that journey. A statement of intent AND a blueprint to the desired business objective.