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ES 13/07/2012

Y e s , Y e s , Y e s !

L o n d o n s g o n e5 0 s h a d e s

o f k i n k Y

o u t L i n e s a n d

o L i g a r c h sa p o r t r a i t o f

J u L i a n o p i e

iM adiVa

a n a u d i e n c e w i t h

p h a r r e L L w i L L i a M s

dont MakeMe sound

Like arock star,

PLUS...Pamela Anderson...The fabulous Franco brothers...Polly Morgan...Kate Moss

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E S m a g a z i n E S t an d ar d . c o. u k /l i f E S t y l E 2 3

who ispharrell

williams?Hes the enigmatic musician-slash-super-producer who madeJustin Timberlake cool, sees musicin colour, and designs not one buttwo clothing lines. Amy Raphaelgets a rare audience

P h o t o g r a p h s b y s a b i n e V i l l i a r d

S t y l e d b y o r l y a s z a b

Pharre ll wear shoundstooth jacket,

489, Paul & Jo e atHarrod s (har rods. com).Shirt, 135, Bee Line(bbcicream.com).

Hat, Ph arrel ls own

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2 2 E S m a g a z i n E S t a n d a r d . c o . u k/l i f E S t y l E

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On a sunny aternoon in central Paris

a people-carrier with blacked-out

windows pulls into the courtyard

o a recording studio and a posse o

young men appears, blinking in

the sunlight. Im introduced to the

smallest of them. His hair is cropped short, his

denim skater shorts hang low, his black

Timberlands are Tipp-Exed with the legends

Anxiety Tranquil ized and Boredom Amused.

Theres an awkward silence as we shake hands.Its a great day, I tell him. A glimmer o a smile.

Thanks, maam. I dont know what to say; I

was alluding to the perfect sky, not the honour

o meeting Pharrell Williams.

Williams may be a slight 5t 9in, but hes a

huge star who is, according to Forbes, worth

around 48.5 mill ion. He is the frontman of the

rocking rappers N*E*R*D (an optimistic acro-

nym for No One Ever Really Dies) and one half

o producer-songwriters The Neptunes. With

the latter he has, quite literally, shaped the

sound of modern hip-hop by producing hitsongs or A-listers such as Justin Timberlake,

Jay-Z, Nelly and Britney Spears. In the summer

o 2003, Williams had co-produced nearly 20

per cent o tracks playing on British radio. In

America those stats doubled.

Not bad or a kid who was fred not once but

three times by McDonalds. Their loss; the

ludicrously talented Williams, 39, is now one

of the most successful artists on the planet,

and hes showing no sign of slowing down. Like

many o his contemporaries, such as the tire-

less workaholic will.i.am, Williams is building

a fashion empire. In 2005 he launched the

high-end streetwear label Billionaire Boys Club

(BBC) with A Bathing Ape ounder Nigo, ater

he and the Japanese designer bonded overStarTrek. The A/W collection will be in Harrods

next month. And now he is collaborating on a

brand-new luxury collect ion called Bee Line.

Williams is a tricky interviewee. He turns up

an hour late were lucky its not longer,

apparently and takes a while to warm up.

When he does, he chats enthusiastically about

the architecture and history of Paris, but is less

keen to discuss fashion except in the most gen-

eral, or even cryptic, sense. On the inextricable

link between music and fashion he muses:

Theyre like time and space. One cant exist

without the other. Will iams is frequentlyasked about ame and girls in interviews, but

oten stonewalls. He makes a point o reusing

to discuss his romantic relationships although,

according to the American press, he was

rumoured to be dating Jade Jagger in 2003 and

has had a long-term relationship with Vashtie

Kola, a fashion designer and music director.

Today he mentions a woman in his life but

wont be drawn on who she is.

m u s i c a n d f a s h i O n

a r e l i k e t i m e a n d

s p a c e . O n e c a n t

e x i s t w i t h O u t

t h e O t h e r

In conc ert w ith Ju stinTimberlake, Brixton

Acade my, 200 3

LfILONDON

p h a r r e l l w i l l i a m s

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E S m a g a z i n E S t a n d a r d . c o . u k /l i f E S t y l E 2 5

Pharre ll wear s shir t,289, a nd Ikat

Azt ec-pr int tr ouse rs,949, Lan vin

at Harrods.

Loafe rs, 17 5, Gre nson(grenson.co.uk).

Sunglasses, 280,Dolce & Gabba na atHarro ds. B racele ts,

Pharr ells o wn

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2 6 E S m a g a z i n E S t a n d a r d . c o . u k/l i f E S t y l E

x x x x x x x x x x x

i w a s y o u n g . i w a s

d u m b . i t h o u g h t i w a s

a g e n i u s . i d s o l d a

c o u p l e o f r e c o r d s

Pharr ell wea rscardigan, 195, T-shirt,

60, an d jean s,12 5, Bil lion aire Bo ysClub at Harrods(harrods.com). Boots,

385 , Bill iona ire Bo ysClub x Mark McNairyat Harrods. Hat

and jewellery,Pharr ells o wn.Fashio n ass ist ant:Basm a Khalif a.Shot on location atGang RecordingStudio, Paris

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