Photos courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
Pharrell Just Made Surf the Coolest Thing in Paris. Surf Industry Leaders Weigh In.
SESO asked Pat Tenore of Tenore, Ryan Hitzel of Roark, Evan Slater of Sun Bum, Candy Harris of Unlisted Brand Lab, Ryan Mangan of Quiksilver and Billabong, Pat O’Connell of Florence and Paul Naude of Vissla what it means when a luxury house this size leans this hard into surf culture. Here is what they said.
Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2027 menswear show this week was not a passing nod to surf culture. Men’s Creative Director Pharrell Williams built the entire set around it, a 26-foot-high wave constructed with real circulating water, rising over a sand runway in the middle of Paris. Well-regarded free surfer Mikey February appeared in the cinematic prelude and campaign. The collection itself ran through wetsuit textures, weathered denim, beaded bombers and logoed surfboards, with Louis Vuitton also committing to a Coral Gardeners reef restoration partnership in French Polynesia.
The images ricocheted across social media and the broader internet within hours, drawing reaction from both inside and outside the surf community. Some praised the show as a long overdue validation of surf culture’s influence on global fashion. Others questioned what it means for a luxury house with no real ties to the water to stage its biggest seasonal moment around it.
SESO reached out to surf industry leaders to get their unfiltered, quick takes on the show and what Louis Vuitton’s full embrace of surf imagery means for the business and culture. Here is what they told us.
Ryan Hitzel, Founder and Chief Brand Officer, Roark
“This illustrates the potency of surf culture and fashion as it regenerates for the next generation of consumers. For Pharrell, it was about the feeling. As a skateboarder, he’s always been close, but his connection to the pool in Virginia Beach really inspired him. I think it’s great, a validator of how powerful our culture can be.”
Click on the following link to read the rest of this interesting SES article: Pharrell Just Made Surf the Coolest Thing in Paris. Surf Industry Leaders Weigh In. | Shop Eat Surf Outdoor
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