Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton is all about disruption in the context of tradition; breaking the norm while paying homage to the house’s storied style codes and history. The latest venture for Louis Vuitton’s footwear branch is no exception to the rule, rooted heavily in what Thibo Denis calls "disturbing the rules."
Denis and Mathias Patillon sat down with Hypebeast to share more about the step-by-step design process – challenges, creative inspirations, feedback from Pharrell, and all.
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Where did the design process start?
Thibo Denis: We started the design of this pair, like the idea of a skate cup sole shoe, before I even joined. It was when P joined LV. At the show a year ago, friendship was a big theme for P and NIGO. We brought some ideas to the table, and P had a specific idea [about the shoe], so that’s where the project started.
Mathias Patillon: The idea, based on that, was “Skateboard P.” That’s such an important thing for him. He was asking for that type of shoe. We were also looking for a new category for us, and this shoe is particularly interesting in terms of proportion and detailing. We can have all of the LV DNA, both old and from Pharrell. The idea is to be super playful, compared to past, more tech models.
Denis: Pharrell wanted something that would be specific to both his aesthetic and the LV aesthetic. There’s this idea that the left is right and the right is left. So you wouldn’t really see the shape of your right foot or left foot. Already, with this, he had a very specific idea of something that was a little big bigger than a classic cap sole shoe. Every detail was so important. It was all around the codes of the house. Which LV are we going to write? Which monogram are we going to use? We brainstormed about our first memories of LV sneakers, like during Marc Jacobs’ time.
Patillon: Back in the nineties, when we would skate. That was interesting. We wanted to elevate that with nice leather and suede; those were specific requests from Pharrell.
What was the first step in making the shoe feel playful?
Denis: For me, everything is about proportion. When you start a new project, which was an idea across the whole footwear design team, you’re looking at: is it going to be rounded? Is it going to be pointed? Do we have a sole that’s completely covering the upper? We spoke a lot about proportion. And when we talk about cup soles, what comes to mind is something straight and flat. So we thought, what if we added a rounder angle? It was all about disturbing the rules and going a little bit against the rules, but knowing what the final visual means.
Patillon: We knew it was a skate shoe, but there’s a lot of discussion and details that go into the creation. A lot of references. Super important. Even the name of the shoe as well. It says “Tilted” on the tongue. We looked a lot at Pharrell before LV, and did a lot of research on the first sneakers he was doing with BAPE and Billionaire Boys Club, and there was an ICE CREAM titled logo on the side of the soles.
Denis: We’ve been into sneaker culture for a long time, so the idea of sharing ideas and references that speak to early sneaker addicts was very important for us. The references will speak to people, which is very important to us when we design, to have those things that will always bring nostalgia, and remind people of things they wore in 2000.
Patillon: When you see it, you know exactly what it is. You can find a lot of references, but at the same time, it’s not just like any other shoe. It’s about understanding the era and translating it into a new vision to make it different.
What do you think was the most technically difficult element that you wanted to execute?
Patillon: It seems simple, but we are super picky in terms of proportion. It took a lot of fittings, especially keeping in mind P’s request not be able to tell the left foot from the right foot, while still keeping a modern shape that you can wear easily. The distorted monogram on the sole was a bit difficult, but we weren’t going to use old techniques. It’s 2026, so here you have a TPU and EVA. Really, the idea was to have something light and also with a bit of grip. That was super important. So we developed that with the team in Italy, and it took a bit of time to adjust and perfect.
Denis: Many technical aspects seem quite obvious, but are actually super tricky to manage. When you look at the profile of the shoe, you see that there is nothing straight. We tried to round everything. Adding the stitching of the upper that would go into the toe cap next to the honey side was difficult to achieve. The color in the LV was difficult – having to use some natural leather next to suede. You have many things in the shoe that we technically don’t imagine when we see the final product, but we go through design issues and construction issues, and prioritize the quality of the fabric and material.
Patillon: For a cheap shoe, that’s not an issue when you have imperfect stitching on the sole of some difference in construction or assembling. But we really have to be perfect on that. It might seem simple, but to make it elegant and elevated takes a lot of time.
Which element of the shoe would you say you’re most strict about when it comes to inspecting each pair?
Denis: I think we can agree that the idea in the beginning is always the last. What is it going to look like when you see it on the shelves? But also, what is it going to look like when you put it on your feet? Pharrell having the idea of “left is right, right is left” was what we wanted to achieve. The toe is really rounded, but inside, you have to follow the classic shape of the foot. But really, in terms of details, we have to be picky about everything.
Patillon: The details are simple when you look at the shoe, but it’s a lot of work to make it flawless like that.
Denis: I like to speak about proportion with Matthais because even though we did blow up the idea of it being a classic cup-sole sketch shoe. So we were asking ourselves, do we keep the eyelet the right size? Do we keep the laces the right size? Or do we go up a little bit and re-proportion everything? We decided to go up in terms of the eyelet and made the laces slightly bigger, without it being a classic 2000s skate shoe. It’s always the accumulation of details and focus on all the parts of sneakers that make a product that we like. We need to like what we bring to the market. We need to be convinced of it. Pharrell has such a joyful way of designing with the studio. He pushes us to find the right details and create his language for Louis Vuitton.
Patillon: He pushes us and trusts us and what we can bring to the table. It’s like ping-pong between the ideas. We try to find a solution based on an idea. Altogether, we are able to create something better.
Denis: It’s a collaboration, really. Pharrell is extremely exigent in the leather and its fabrication. Even in the construction, we try to work with suede leather, but in lining the shoe, we prioritized having the nicest end you can have – even if it’s not the same leather from the bags – but you still have the consistent design language from P.
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