Making A House His Home
Review of Louis Vuitton Fall 2026 Men’s Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
A supersized wooden box held todays Louis Vuitton Fall 2026 show, that also housed a pre-fabricated luxury house complete with manicured gardens fragrant with a scent developed by Louis Vuitton Master Perfumer – Jacques Cavallier Belletrud. This was part of Pharrell’s immersive experience to embed the show’s theme of ‘Timeless Living’.
Transporting the viewer to another world, dimension, or space in time has always been the unsung responsibility of the set designer. Couple this with a creative directors vision and those who have attended fashion week in recent years have floated among the stars (Chanel, Spring 2026), walked down the Yellow Brick Road (Louis Vuitton, Spring 2023), visited the Happiest Place On Earth after hours (Coperni, Spring 2025), and sat beachside as waves lapped at their feet (Chanel, Spring 2019).
And if those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, at least they can stage fashion shows in them. But its not first time that glass houses (or boxes) have set the stage for a show – think Kim Jones first Spring 2021 Couture outing for Fendi, Alexander McQueen’s Spring 2001 Voss show, or when Philip Johnson’s iconic modernist ‘Glass House’ provided the backdrop for Thom Browne’s golf line in 2018. And, in a season rich in metaphor Pharrell’s glass house became a symbol of fragility and endurance through evolution.
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Endurance as Evolution, Timeless Living
Pharrell setting his Fall show within the manicured grounds of a glass house, which his models proceeded to walk through to start the show, saw the creative director inadvertently acknowledge the way luxury fashion houses have provided a product-based solution for every aspect of our lives, including pre-fabricated luxury homes. And Louis Vuitton’s evolution into a true lifestyle brand, means no want or need has been left untouched. From make-up to pinball machines, dog bowls to ski’s, YoYo’s to monogrammed coffee cups.
This felt like a full-circle moment (not forgetting the late Virgil Abloh’s Fall 2022 ‘Louis Dreamhouse’ show featuring a topsy-turvy take on a house in disarray or Colm Dillane’s Fall 2023 90s-inspired set) as in recent years the brand has hosted numerous shoppable ‘residences’ showcasing the Maison’s savour-faire. The 2022 Shelter Island pop-up in New York – also a glass-walled private residence – reflects today’s curation of HOMEWORK furniture, custom-trunks and of course a record player. Bringing the concept of home into his creative cannon, Pharrell wanted to speak to timelessness. In employing utilitarian design and technically-infused textiles – light reflective yarns and thermo-adaptive fabrics – the designer was considering the ‘imminent future’ and what the Louis Vuitton customer will need to adapt and endure during these tough times. Which upon reflection is an intelligent way to approach a future that shifts with every ‘Breaking News’ cycle.
The invitation for Fall 2026 was a set of leather slippers! Another example of seeking comfort in familiarity, as the notes outlined the collection was driven by a theme of ‘function and human need’. And as we saw with designers in Milan, Pharrell to is proposing we build a sense of resilience through endurance. Crafting clothing woven with technical innovation and developed with functionality front of mind. In this collection there was also an unfamiliar sense of serenity and restraint, when compared to previous outings. Yet, this tracks with the return to conservative heteronormative ideas around how men should dress that has been trending across the season so far, with many brands following suit, literally.
Although there are still five days left in the schedule to be proven otherwise, it stands to reason that if fashion is to honestly serve one of its many functions, i.e. to reflect society and the shifting ideas of personal identity, then alongside clothes for the 1%, space still needs to be held for a representation of the outsiders, the rebels, the artists, the deconstructionists – not dismissing Junya Watanabe, Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons or Yohji Yamamoto. This may be a big ask for brands, and conglomerates on shaky ground but homogenisation isn’t the silver bullet to combat uncertainty, creativity coupled with a little business savvy will be what saves us.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
While focusing on the future with a desire to embed longevity makes sense for this moment, what was missing today was the creative director’s skilful mashing up of dress codes, creative genres, and pop culture references. Some of which could be found in the Dandy-esque silhouettes but there was more to play with in the neck-ties, mink masquerading as towelling, crystal embellished ‘rain droplets’ and the animated objects replicating a “TV, and alarm clock, a landline telephone and a mini boombox’.
This play on his heritage of streetwear and subverting menswear standards is what has defined Pharrell’s tenure thus far, and while the world demands we acknowledge what is happening to it, let’s hope some of that joy returns next season.
