By Megan Gustashaw
GQ Magazine
March 12, 2017
From XL ten-gallon hats to loud printed jeans, Pharrell has a way of giving even the most outlandish style statements mass appeal. But can he convince men to buy into the cross-body bag trend? That was the idea when the music mogul was cast to appear alongside Kristen Stewart, Cara Delevingne, and Caroline de Maigret in a campaign for Chanel’s new Gabrielle bag—a gender-fluid first for the 108-year-old French brand.
Karl Lagerfeld told WWD the Gabrielle is meant to be worn in “many different circumstances”, clarifying that “it’s not very feminine in the sense of being chichi”. Lagerfeld also noted to WWD that the bag’s squared-off shape was inspired by virtual reality goggles, which are used by both men and women. Additionally, in Chanel’s Fall 2017 runway show (which, like a birdcall to teenage boys everywhere, featured an actual flame-bursting rocket ship) male models wore the Gabrielle on the runway.
Pharrell, for his part, makes a convincing enough case for men buying the handbag, which retails for $3,600 in calfskin, though the crocodile version he wears in the campaign will presumably go for several times that amount. “When I first started wearing it I didn’t have anything in it. I was just so excited to have it,” he said. “But now I use it to carry my phone, and—you know—essential personal things.” In other words, the Gabrielle might be made out of exotic reptile skin and finished with fancy chain straps but it's still, you know, just a bag.