Pharrell Williams was born on 5 April 1973 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He met Chad Hugo at a summer music camp as a teenager, and as the Neptunes the two became one of the most successful production partnerships in pop and hip-hop from the late 1990s, alongside their band N.E.R.D. His solo hit Happy, written for Despicable Me 2, became one of the best-selling singles of the 2010s.

Fashion was a parallel career from early on. In 2003 he founded the streetwear labels Billionaire Boys Club and Icecream with the Japanese designer Nigo of A Bathing Ape. A year later he designed the Millionaire sunglasses and later jewellery for Louis Vuitton under Marc Jacobs, the start of a long relationship with the house. He has since collaborated with Chanel, Moncler, Comme des Garçons and Uniqlo, created the long-running Hu collection with adidas Originals, launched the skincare brand Humanrace in 2020, and in 2022 co-founded the auction house Joopiter.

In February 2023 Louis Vuitton appointed him creative director of men's, succeeding Virgil Abloh, who died in 2021. His first show, in June 2023, took place on the Pont Neuf, which was covered in gold for the occasion, and introduced a camouflage pattern blending the Damier and pixelated imagery as well as a revived Speedy bag in bright colours. His Vuitton draws on dandyism, workwear, Western dress and travel, staged in grand shows that often bring together music and a large cast.

For Fall-Winter 2026, presented in January 2026 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton during the house's Monogram anniversary year, he showed a collection called Timeless, pairing classic menswear with technical materials such as water-repellent tailoring and reflective checks. He continues as creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear.