Back in February, REVOLT reported that Pharrell Williams had been named the new men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton, taking over a position previously held by the late Virgil Abloh. It was also announced that his first order of business would be a collection set to debut later today (June 20) as part of Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.

On Monday (June 19), Women’s Wear Daily published an interview with Williams, where he spoke on his newly minted role within the French fashion house. “It’s crazy because you can see a photo of myself with [Kanye West] and Virgil wearing the sunglasses, so it’s like all of this serendipitous connection,” the N.E.R.D frontman stated. “Every day, I gotta pinch myself because it’s an appointment, and I was chosen. [Louis Vuitton Chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari] saw something, and I’m touched by that and I honor that every day.”

He continued, “What would you do? Right? Like, you know, you get to come in here with the world’s greatest house — dare I say, unlimited resources. I hardly ever hear ‘no,’ and when I do, it’s always for a real constructive reason, and then I’m given an opportunity to do something even bigger, even greater. This has been nothing but a gift.”

Elsewhere in the feature, Williams acknowledged the criticism that he’s faced from those who felt that other designers deserved the opportunity. “I didn’t go to Central Saint Martins, but I also didn’t go to Juilliard either in music, and I mean, we see how that turned out,” the decorated producer said. “It’s cool. That’s a very fair observation. But neither did Vivienne Westwood, right? Tadao Ando was self-taught. I mean, he’s the GOAT, right? I only aspire to express myself.”

Fans can tune into a livestream (below) of Louis Vuitton‘s Spring 2024 collection when it premieres at 3:30 p.m. EST.