Along with a successful music and fashion career, Pharrell is noted for his unique design taste which has led him to collaborate with artist Takashi Murakami and furniture brand Domeau & Pérès. His newest Billionaire Boys Club/ICECREAM flagship store in NYC lends itself to an impressive design-centric location with the help of architecture firm Snarkitecture. Architectural Digest recently sat down with the multi-hyphenate artist to discuss the theme of the retail space, his creative inspirations and remarkable art collection. Take a look at a snippet of the interview below and read the rest here.
AD: Can you describe the overall aesthetic?
PW: The store is very simple. We wanted to give the product room to shine, so Snarkitecture basically whitewashed everything. We carry some colorful stuff, so [the products] really pop in the space once they get placed on the fixtures.
AD: What people, places, or things are inspiring your design sensibility these days?
PW: I travel a lot and get inspired everywhere I go, but nowhere is more inspiring than Japan. The design, creative, and merchandising there is on a whole other level. It also helps to have a friend like [Japanese fashion designer/Billionaire Boys Club cofounder] Nigo, who, to me, has the greatest taste. I don’t know how many times I’ve been to Japan, but every time he shows me something new that blows my mind.
AD: You have quite an impressive art collection. What’s one piece that you consider to be your most meaningful purchase?
PW: I don’t buy anything that’s not meaningful. You have to surround yourself with things that have a purpose and a clear function. Maybe our large Murakami Flower Ball—it usually makes people smile when they see it.
New York-based artist Ava Nirui has been known for her imaginative designs which juxtapose luxury brands and popular logos against various random objects. She became intrigued with the idea of bootlegging after working on a set of faux-designer clothes for vintage Barbie dolls. From there, she’s taken everything from sneakers, to basketballs, to asthma inhalers and reworked them with a tongue-in-cheek logo treatment. One of her most popular series included fusing designer labels including Moschino, Balenciaga and Celine, with the embroidered Champion logo. While her creations were originally not for sale, she recently took to her Instagram account to announce that her Gucci x Champion bootleg hoodie would be available in a limited run of 10 pieces to purchase via her website.
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