Louis Vuitton’s first and only fragrance launch of the year had to be a special one. So men’s creative director Pharrell Williams and master perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud teamed up to create LVERS, a brand-new scent that takes inspiration from the summer sun. Launching June 19th, LVERS is the Grammy-winning musician’s first-ever fragrance collaboration with Louis Vuitton, for whom he has served as creative director of men’s since succeeding Virgil Abloh in February 2023.
LVERS aims to capture the way sunlight smells when it shines on a person’s skin—a tall and imaginative order, but not one too farfetched for Williams, who previously released his own scent, Girls, in 2014. In a press release, the musician and designer spoke to the metaphoric way that light has been influential throughout his life. With LVERS, he said, he wants to answer the question: “What will you do when the sun shines on you?” Cavallier Belletrud added that the duo wanted to appreciate how, “if you look at life, photosynthesis is the starting point for everything.”
LVERS contains central green and spicy notes: galbanum, a resin from the Ferula plant that’s not typically used in popular fragrances today, shines in this perfume. Cedarwood and sandalwood add an earthy edge, with ginger and bergamot bringing a fresh lightness to the scent—like taking a crisp whiff of a forest at sunrise.
Williams’s creative eye expands beyond the scent alone. The fragrance’s golden hue shines through a glass bottle designed to emulate light reflecting on a surface. Plus, the designer leaves his mark on the fragrance’s travel case and trunk by using green Damoflage print: a merging of Louis Vuitton’s classic Damier pattern and William’s signature camouflage, which he debuted at his first LV runway show back in June 2023.
LVERS is energetic and elegant, and intended for all genders and ages. Williams and Cavallier Belletrud have managed to bottle the sun’s optimistic and loving qualities—and the former’s distinctive, visionary approach to everything he creates (from his music to his menswear with Louis Vuitton) promises LVERS will be a glowing spritz of summer.