Louis Vuitton x India: Pharrell turns Paris into a spiritual chessboard

What if the next luxury revolution had already taken place, on Tuesday June 24, right in the heart of Paris? For his spring-summer 2026 men’s show, Pharrell Williams chose to vibrate the walls of the Centre Pompidou around a theme as unexpected as it was magnetic: India.

The Centre Pompidou, new epicenter of nomadic luxury signed by Pharrell

After Saint Laurent at the Bourse de Commerce, Louis Vuitton took over a now legendary contemporary art venue. Closed for renovation, the Centre Pompidou becomes, for one evening, the stage for a symbolic game. Inspired by “Snakes and Ladders”, a traditional Indian game revisited by Studio Mumbai, the décor transforms guests into moving pieces on a metaphysical chessboard, where fashion becomes an inner quest.

Beyoncé, Jay-Z and style diplomacy

It’s not just the collection that’s been the talk of the town: the front row features Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Spike Lee, Victor Wembanyama and Bradley Cooper. The presence of these icons is not insignificant: it seals the pop-culture and diplomatic dimension of an event that, beneath its dreamlike airs, says something about our times.

India reinterpreted by Pharrell Williams: between spirituality, craftsmanship and freedom

Pharrell Williams, faithful to thespirit of travel of the house founded in 1854, weaves a subtle visual dialogue between Indian textile heritage and instinctive modernity. Sunburned hues – indigo, camel, coffee brown, velvety pastels – and noble materials such as cashmere, vicuña and faded silk evoke the traces of time and imperfect beauty.

The silhouette? Fluid, almost meditative, carried by intuitive superimpositions, hand-painted stripes, denim embroidered with micro-pearls, and unstructured suits. A nod to Wes Anderson, via a motif taken from the film The Darjeeling Limited, infuses the ensemble with a cinematic touch, somewhere between dream and reality.

Accessories: mobile luxury, memory of the world

When it comes to accessories, Pharrell doesn’t take the easy way out. The classic Speedy P9 and Cruiser Duffle are adorned with distressed leathers, embroidered canvas, semi-precious stones and exotic skins. Special mention goes to oversized sandals, ostrich moccasins and suede ankle boots, all fragments of lived luxury, between desert and sacred city.

Jewelry, belts and bandanas function here as nomadic talismans, punctuating the silhouette with poetry and depth. They are objects of transmission, symbols of passage, sensitive traces of travel.

Also read: Men’s Fashion Week: the Paris program