On Tuesday (Aug. 15), GQ announced Pharrell Williams as the cover feature for their September 2023 issue. In the interview, the legendary musician spoke on his latest position as men’s head designer for Louis Vuitton, a role previously held by the late Virgil Abloh. “From Paris to VA, VA to Paris,” he explained as his mission statement. “That’s literally the narrative. All of this is seeding that. It’s a part of my story.”

As far as how his new appointment came to be, the N.E.R.D. frontman stated that it didn’t involve an arduous process. “It wasn’t an interview or anything,” he recalled. “It was like, ‘Will you accept this position? Will you accept this appointment?’ I’m looking at the water and I’m just like, ‘What?'” Among other names offered as Abloh’s potential successor, he thought that Nigo, the founder of A Bathing Ape and current creative director for KENZO, was the top choice. “He’s my hero, he’s my brother, and he’s the general,” Pharrell said. “I’ve been championing him for a minute. And whenever me and [Alexandre Arnault, the son of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chairman Bernard Arnault] talk about LV, we would always just talk about different people. I’ve always been in the background, just advising. I never thought that it would be me.”

Louis Vuitton CEO Pietro Beccari felt that “it was the perfect opportunity” to reconnect with the 50-year-old maven. “There was a natural and shared understanding of him coming back home,” he revealed, referring to Pharrell’s previous work with the French fashion entity, which included sunglasses and jewelry from as far back as 2004. “It’s the first time someone has had the daringness to pick a real worldwide star to helm a house… He has 13 Grammys and even Oscar nominations. One could say he has a Midas touch. So, as a creative director, while it’s an experiment, I think it will be a successful one.”