Pharrell opens his LV FW25 Menswear Show with this FF7 song

Pharrell Williams, the multi-hyphenated creative has always been a bit unconventional when it comes to any of his creative endeavors. Whether in producing music, creating his own documentary film entirely in LEGO format, or fashion — something the 51 year old Virginia-native has been doing professionally since early 2000’s. For his Menswear Fall-Winter 2025 Collection for mega luxury fashion house, Louis Vuitton (where Pharrell is currently the House Creative Director for Menswear), he tapped into deep geek territory to include one of the most iconic Final Fantasy VII songs on the runway.

As the first of the models walked the special circular runway crafted inside the Cour Carrée du Louvre in Paris, familiar blaring of horns and strings can be heard as Pharrell opens his show with a orchestral rendition of Sephiroth’s haunting theme: One-Winged Angel.  Arranged & orchestrated by Thomas Roussel, One-Winged Angel originally composed by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu, gives a strong pretext of what the show is all about.

Collaborating with long-time friend, and business partner Nigo — who, by the way, is also the Creative Director for another LVMH brand: Kenzo — the theme of the LVFW 25 Menswear Collection is all about bridging Tokyo and Paris and celebrating the long history of these two creative greats. Nigo, for those who may not know, is also the founder of A Bathing Ape in Luke Warm Water, or simply BAPE — the iconic Japanese Streetwear brand.

While we’re not entirely sure if Pharrell is a big Final Fantasy VII fan, we do know that he’s at least very aware of the game’s pop-culture importance…down to the song choice. If any song from the franchise would shake you up and give you the melodic pump that you need, it’s definitely One-Winged Angel. Sadly, however, he didn’t include a choir setup for this particular runway unlike those from his debut show last year for Spring Summer 2024 and Fall-Winter 2024. Imagine having a dozen or so people singing “Estuans interius Ira vehementi, Estuans interius Ira vehementi, Sephiroth!” Chills.

Images from LouisVuitton.com

While, the collection didn’t have any iconic Final Fantasy VII  designs or even motifs infused unto the designs, there was a clear love for Japanese streetwear fashion sprinkled throughout the 100+ pieces that came out the runway. From workwear jackets, to buttery-soft Speedy P9’s in Yuzu, Indigo Blue, Sakura-Pink, and even a Silk Sukajan style Speedy bag, Pharrell’s admiration for all things Japan as well as Nigo’s Japanese Streetwear sensibilities shine in this collection. By the end of the collection, the 24 display cases that orbits around the runway reveled personal archival collections from both Pharrell and Nigo.

Pharrell also showcased new songs with Seventeen (Bad Influence), The Weekend feat Playboi Carti (Timeless) and Don Toliver & j-hope (LV Bag).

This isn’t the first time that Louis Vuitton sought Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Franchise to help promote their brand, nor is this the first time that geek and gaming culture bled into the world of High-Fashion (like that of Sony PS5 and Balenciaga, or FRGMT x Pokemon x Fendi pocket collection). As a gamer geek that’s also fascinated with the world of high fashion and luxury, I find it intriguing to see more of our childhood hobbies and iconographies finding themselves in spaces where they were once shunned. Geek is in, and it’s here to stay.

Now, if they can just do something about the perennial price increase on these bags…hmm…