Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2026 is All About the House
Sitting inside a giant wooden shipping crate on the grounds of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, I realized I had made a terrible mistake.
Six months ago, I wrote that, with his Spring-Summer 2026 collection, Pharrell’s vision for Louis Vuitton had matured: more tailoring, less monogram. While that may have been true at the time, perhaps I should have waited a season, as the Fall-Winter 2026 collection offered an even lighter touch when it came to monogram, damier, logos and otherwise outright demonstrations of luxury. Remember quiet luxury? This was that — or at least as quiet as one can be in Louis Vuitton.
Less quiet was the set itself, with DROPHAUS, a glass-walled house built in the middle, surrounded by a lush, grass-green catwalk and assorted greenery. The interior of the house was tastefully decorated, with HOMEWORK pieces of furniture designed by Pharrell that were decidedly minimalist, setting the tone for the clothes that would follow.
While the majority of the bags bore the Maison’s iconic monogram, it wasn’t until the 28th look that the first piece of monogram-covered clothing appeared and, by my count, only seven looks featured the monogram — a drastic reduction compared just a few years ago. The palette was largely muted and rooted in greys, beiges and browns, with a standout use of dusty canary yellow and a lovely red, which was used on what I felt was the most desirable and wearable piece from the collection: a tri-tone panelled sweater that featured three different knitting styles. Even the bejewelled accents seemed smaller and more unassuming than in previous seasons.
That said, there may be more than meets the eye, as some of the outerwear pieces were cut from new fabrics that, when wet, reveal a subtle tone-on-tone monogram. Traditional-looking gentleman’s cloths were reflective under light; classic blue workwear trousers were crafted from luxurious vicuña; an invisible monogram, dubbed “Ghost”, is designed to become visible with wear, an ode to the precious patina so loved by watch aficionados and menswear nerds alike.
In a single word, this felt relaxed. Even if it featured lots of neckties and tailoring, there was an ease to the clothing, whether in the softer fit of the suiting or an artfully wrinkled shirt with a papier mâché-like quality to it. There was new tailoring that blended the formal suit with the humble tracksuit, with a boxy, short silhouette, elasticated detailing and lightweight performance fabrics and skin-tight turtleneck base layers peeking out from underneath shirts and ties. Puffer jackets were worn over suits and so, too, were rain jackets.
It was easy to picture the man for whom Pharrell designed this collection: a lawyer or finance executive (there were, after all, sweaters that were unzipped a quarter of the way), who prides himself on his taste, be it in art, music, food or clothing. He lives in a house not too dissimilar from that which was at the centre of the set, albeit on a bigger scale. He feels at home in a suit and tie, yet he’s not a suit. This is not a new luxury customer, per se, but it’s a break from the recent trend of chasing a younger client; an admission, perhaps, that luxury brands catering to early-20-somethings was not a sustainable business model. Sure, there are still pieces for those in that demographic, but this collection felt decidedly more mature — dare I say more traditional — than any of Pharrell’s previous work. There was nuance: to the colours, to the fits, to the pieces themselves.
The trunks perhaps tell the story of the collection best, rendered to look like stained glass. Stained glass doesn’t necessarily excite people, but, when you see the stained glass windows in a place like the Chartres cathedral, it is impossible to not find them beautiful — to be impressed, moved even. If the Fall-Winter 2026 collection lacked a motif meant to excite people, it made up for it by doing something even more important: being damn good and wearable.
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