The debut of the LOUIS VUITTON Trainer redefined the standard for luxury fashion houses’ sneakers, dominating industry conversations for quite some time. However, with the waning heat of “Sneaker Culture,” LOUIS VUITTON faces the challenge of creating a new footwear piece that captures attention. Enter creative director Pharrell Williams with his “version answer”—the LV x Timberland boots.
In January, the LV 2024 Fall/Winter menswear collection debuted at Jardin d’Acclimatation, a park in the northern part of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. Before the official reveal, Pharrell teased a major collaboration on his Instagram account, @skateboard. In a brief video, he rolled up his jeans to reveal a pair of classic Timberland boots with the LV logo on the tongue, which he folded down to show the Monogram pattern inside
Exploring the Origins of the American Western Wardrobe
For Pharrell’s third collection at the helm of LV menswear, the 2024 Fall/Winter lineup follows a journey from Paris to Virginia, landing in the American West. The runway, with its undulating Western landscape and desert-like textures, sets the tone for a collection that explores the origins of the Western wardrobe.
Drawing from classic Western workwear elements and silhouettes, Pharrell reinterprets his debut “Damoflage” design into a pixelated “Cowmooflage” for the fall collection. LV’s atelier adds luxurious touches to the simple, rugged workwear styles, featuring bead and sequin floral embroidery, sunbeam and raindrop paintings, and Western floral prints on denim, presenting a washed bronze effect.
Workwear silhouettes transform into meticulously crafted pieces, such as tailored denim jackets with metallic bronze floral embroidery and beaded sunbeam embellishments. Striped patterns made from metal studs or turquoise, and the Damier checkerboard pattern appear on suit jackets. Original denim artworks in jacquard, chain-stitched Western elements like cacti, bullhorns, and bolo knives, and saddle prints evoke classic Western film scenes.
LV 2024 Fall/Winter Menswear Runway Details
Expanding on the Western theme, the collection’s accessories feature regional styles. The Dakota tribe’s floral patterns, the Lakota tribe’s hand-painted Parfleche designs, and the sacred Topa cross appear on Speedy and Keepall bags, as well as on blankets and scarves. Turquoise and leather tassels, iconic in Western wardrobes, adorn clothing, bags, and jewelry throughout the colaboration.l
The LV Rider Western boots, made from crocodile, python, ostrich, and suede, the LV Texan cowboy boots crafted with Texas bootmaker Goodyear, and monk shoes with denim-style buckles continue to build the Western wardrobe’s image. The highly anticipated LV x Timberland collaboration pushes the Western and workwear-inspired series to new heights.