On the Podcast: Will Welch Breaks Down Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton Debut—and Usher Confesses His Fashion Obsessions

If you want to hear me and Chioma giggle, gush, and go gaga over a guest, this is the episode for you: Introducing Usher Raymond IV on The Run-Through with Vogue. The beloved R&B singer joined us in the studio ahead of the summer session of his Las Vegas residency, which in its first leg, this past winter, was the place to see and be seen. Later this year the singer will also release his first new album in over five years. But what we really wanted to talk to him about was his unabashed love of and obsession with fashion—from trawling the RealReal late at night during the pandemic to cleaning the aisles of the Rick Owens shop in Los Angeles whenever new styles arrive. We reminisced about his first designer fashion moment—a mustard Versace suit when he was 12 years old (he still has it)—and how he feels about his kids borrowing his clothes.

But before we get to Usher, the real news of the week was the star-studded explosion on the Pont Neuf in Paris: Pharrell Williams’s debut collection for Louis Vuitton Mens. A carnival of star wattage, style, cultural currency, and pure joy, the show is sure to be a fashion high point of 2023, and it’s only June! GQ Global Editorial Director Will Welch joined us from Paris the day after the show to tell us everything about Williams’s dazzling debut, from the Damier print painted on the Pont Neuf to the surprise post-show performance by Jay-Z. Welch also brought us up to speed on all the best mens’ shows in Milan and Paris, from quiet luxury to exuberant extravagance. But as Williams noted in his show notes, these clothes are not menswear or womenswear—they’re just for humans.