Surf's Up — The Story Behind Pharrell Williams' Tidal Wave Set for Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton men's creative director and polymath Pharrell Williams presented the brand's S/S 2027 collection on the evening of 23 June 2026, against scenography also designed by himself. The enormous construction, which stood at eight metres high and over 37 metres wide, was conceived to look like a tidal wave, and featured real water provided by the Eau de Paris corporation, which manages the city's aquatic network.

Following the show, the water will be discharged into Paris's famous sewer system, in a closed circuit. Cascading into pools evocative of a beach, it gently misted guests who watched on in the still warm evening sunshine.

A Set Inspired by the Sea

The set concept echoed a collection inspired by international surfing communities, and, fittingly, stood in the open air under blue skies. The ground at Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris had been covered with fine sand for the occasion, and will later be repurposed for beach volleyball on the campus. It was bisected by a boardwalk-style runway.

Louis Vuitton S/S 2027 · Photo credit: Louis Vuitton

Ideas of renewal and regeneration extended beyond the perimeters of the show and its materials, with Louis Vuitton pledging support to Coral Gardeners as part of its sustainability roadmap, to further reef restoration efforts in French Polynesia. It is not only an important environmental campaign but one which will directly benefit communities who live and work in the South Pacific.

World Surf League athletes will take part in monitoring the restoration efforts during the Tahiti Pro competition this August, giving the brand a vital opportunity to hear direct feedback on the project from those most emotionally connected to it.

A Williams Signature

The wooden seating was reused from last season's show, which took place around an architectural "hotel" designed in collaboration with Tokyo-based Not a Hotel, set within the parkland of the Bois de Boulogne and named "Drophaus" for the structure's affinity with a droplet of water.

Audacious set design has become a Williams signature during his tenure at the house, with the S/S 2026 edition even becoming the subject of a documentary, which charted his process of research in India all the way to the execution of a supersized version of Snakes and Ladders, co-created by Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai, at the Centre Pompidou.

Louis Vuitton S/S 2027 · Photo credit: Louis Vuitton