SSENSE

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FASHION

Pharrell Took Over SSENSE With New Humanrace Products and Pieces From His Own Closet 

BY CHRISTIAN ALLAIRE

September 24, 2021

Photo: Courtesy of SSENSE

You may know SSENSE as the online destination for cutting-edge fashion—we’re talking Margiela, Comme des Garçons, and more—but the luxury retailer also has a physical, five-floor space in the historic Old Montréal district in Montréal, Canada. And for the next week, the towering building’s windows are all tinted green. Who is the mysterious person behind this dramatic makeover? That would be multi-hyphenate Pharrell Williams. “Green represents growth,” Williams tells Vogue. “It also represents our ecosystem, the environment, and one of the chakras in our body.” 

This week, Williams is taking over the store. The special exhibit is in honor of his new, expanding skincare company Humanrace, which launched last year. The line began as a genderless, vegan, and clean trio of products (a cleanser, exfoliator, and humidifying cream). Now, Williams is ready to take the brand to the next level—and you’ll have to go to SSENSE to see what’s in store. “Humanrace is about leaving categories better than the way we found them,” says Williams of his future plans, hinting that the brand’s upcoming releases will have a strong emphasis on sustainability, community building, and self-care. “We want to go beyond skincare, and go into skin health.”

Photo: Courtesy of SSENSE

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Each of the five SSENSE floors serve as a different snapshot into Williams’s creative vision for Humanrace. He wanted to offer his fans a more interactive experience, and new customers a fun introduction to the label (which, until now, has been relatively quiet and direct-to-consumer). “SSENSE is the only ones in the [retail] space that offers this high level of curation,” says Williams, who also thought that Montréal itself would be a good place to debut the creative project. “We would always be on the road with N.E.R.D here, and what I always remember most [about this city] is its beautiful people and beautiful culture. And man, the food!”

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Photo: Courtesy of SSENSE

On the first floor of the Humanrace x SSENSE takeover, a short film plays and features cameos from its new faces—Williams calls them the new “Wellbeings”—including model Alessandra Garcia and the singer SZA. “They’re all very creative and successful at what they do in their respective positions,” says Williams of the new collaborators. “And they have good skin.” On the second floor, the Dutch artist duo Scheltens & Abbenes have transformed the bright green Humanrace bottles into abstract works of art featuring photography. “The bottles are beautiful objects that you can put in any bathroom—from the terribly curated, to the most simple and clean design,” says Williams of the design. (The bottles also feature thoughtful details, like writing in braille.) The third and fourth floors, meanwhile, are dedicated to personal shopping appointments, brand education, and a space to “experience the sensation of Humanrace products.”

Pharrell’s secret tip for good skin? “A nice, hot bath every morning for 30 minutes is good for you. You sweat out the toxins, and as soon as you get out of the water, the cool air helps close the pores.” 

Skincare aside, Williams also brought fashion into this exhibit. Displayed on the fifth floor is a small archive of Pharrell’s own wardrobe pieces. No, they’re not for sale; they’re to give a sense of the man behind the brand. The items are curated by his friend, Tyler, the Creator. “He could also be called Tyler, the Curator,” says Williams. “I’m terrible with chronology and location… But he knows the dates of when N.E.R.D singles came out. So I thought he should handpick different moments in my career for that.” The small curation features Pharrell’s infamous Vivienne Westwood Buffalo hat circa 2014. There’s also a Takashi Murakami x Louis Vuitton luggage piece from 2002, and a golden turtleneck and trousers that Pharrell wore in Chanel’s 2018 Metiers d’Art show.

Also on the fifth floor, you can shop an exclusive line of Humanrace items that are exclusive to the SSENSE location. You’ll find exclusive colorways of the Pharrell x Adidas Humanrace Sichona sneakers; colorful Humanrace hoodies, made in partnership with Adidas; as well as Humanrace tees and sweats, made in collaboration with SSENSE. Considering the label is now doing skincare, ready-to-wear, and accessories, Vogue asked if Williams would ever consider expanding into other categories, like cosmetics and makeup. “I think we'll leave that to some of our other peers—like Fenty,” says Williams. “I love Rih and everything she’s doing. I think she’s got that covered. For us, we come from a health and wellness perspective, and we take that seriously.”

Whatever products he launches next, he says inclusivity will always be at the core. “This is a brand for human beings—it’s not Man-race, or Women-race,” says Williams. He’s also proud of how much the brand has grown in only a year—even despite the initial doubts. “For a brand and movement that was born online, in the middle of a pandemic, everyone told us, ‘you should wait,’” he says. “But I was like, ‘no, let’s go.’ The pandemic’s not going away—it’s going to continue being here–but so is the need for self-care.”

Photo: Courtesy of SSENSE

https://www.vogue.com/article/pharrell-williams-ssense-store-takeover-humanrace

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24-09-2021