Louis Vuitton traded drama for quiet luxury with Pharrell Williams' latest menswear line

Business Insider

3 days ago

Gone are flashy colors and logos — Louis Vuitton unveiled its new men's line in all its neutral-toned, quiet luxury glory on Tuesday in Paris.
The fashion house's spring-summer 2026 collection comprised 60 looks: button-downs, tailored blazers, formal pants, and denim jackets. Most were in earth-toned brown, black, and terracotta colors, with pops of blue and yellow.
The stage, created by the Indian architecture firm Studio Mumbai, resembled a magnified version of a "Snakes and Ladders" game board.
Designed by Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton's men's creative director since 2023, the collection is a departure from the louder, more avant-garde spring-summer collections of old.
"Previous spring collections leaned heavily on spectacle—too many bags, logos, and runway theatrics. Here, Pharrell traded that for clarity and purpose," Daniel Langer, a professor of luxury strategy at Pepperdine University, told BI.
A Louis Vuitton creative told GQ that Williams channeled a 2018 India trip into the collection's color palette and silhouettes.
Williams' new, wearable collection comes as LVMH, along with most of the luxury industry, struggles to recover from a major sales slump. The industry has been plagued by a tough macroeconomic environment, weakened consumer confidence, lower spending in China, and a shift in consumer preferences to quiet luxury.
The French luxury giant, which also owns Dior, Givenchy, and Bulgari, reported a 1% revenue increase in 2024 compared to 2023, with sales of 84.7 billion euros, or about $99.10 billion.
It also reported a 17% decline in net profits in 2024 compared to the year before. The company's stock is down nearly 35% in the past year.
Representatives for LVMH did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Leaning harder than ever into quiet luxury
The collection shows Louis Vuitton's pivot to quiet luxury, the dominant consumer trend characterized by subtle, logoless designs, neutral colors, and a focus on quality.
Brands that have long channeled quiet luxury, like Hermès, are thriving.
Williams' new collection is a "smart move," especially at a time when LVMH is "trying to steady the ship," said Albert Varkki, cofounder of luxury leather goods company Von Baer.
"Luxury is recalibrating right now. The era of logo-heavy flash is fading, and aspirational buyers are looking for pieces that feel more grounded," Varkki said. "This collection hits that sweet spot: still premium, still Vuitton, but without the shout."
Langer, the Pepperdine professor, said the move to quiet luxury is "timely," as it draws in aspirational buyers — middle-income buyers wanting to splurge on luxury items.
"Pharrell is tapping into aspirational buyers who crave understated elegance and long-term value. The collection is clearly designed to reignite interest among aspirational consumers drawn to the quiet luxury trend, Langer said.
"Quiet luxury attracts not just older, established clients, but also Gen Z and younger millennials who seek authenticity over extravagance," he added.
But some think the term 'quiet luxury' needs to die
As Louis Vuittons leans hard into quiet luxury, some retail analysts think the trend is precisely what caused the luxury slump.
Bank of America analysts said in a January note that the trend has allowed non-luxury retailers to get a slice of the luxury pie.
"'Quiet luxury' is still in fashion. But it has created lower barriers to entry/scale and fuelled copycats/dupes," the analysts wrote.
The analysts said quiet luxury has made the combination of a "beige cashmere jumper with wide gray pants" a top fashion style, an outfit that is easily replicable with pieces from COS or Uniqlo.
The analysts wrote that instead of betting more on quiet luxury, brands should "pivot back to creativity, fashion content, and newness."
Some LVMH insiders are over the "quiet luxury" name, even if the elements of the trend are all over the runway.
Anish Melwani, the CEO of LVMH US, said on a panel in May, "I think, hopefully, we're past the term quiet luxury, that was getting pretty annoying."
Melwani said some of LVMH's brands, like Loro Piana, have embraced quiet luxury for decades, while others have gone through spurts of logo-adorned products.