Pharrell headlines opening day of Paris Fashion Week

The shows were barely over in Milan but the fashion crowd had already shifted to Paris on Jan. 16, with Pharrell Williams hinting at a cowboy theme for his opening day show for Louis Vuitton.

The luxury sector has become one of the most crucial success stories in the European economy despite its associations with social inequality and the vast environmental damage wrought by the fashion industry.

The season began in Milan last week and continues in Paris with autumn/winter menswear collections from the likes of Dior, Hermes and Loewe.

Hip-hop star Williams took over as creative director at Louis Vuitton last year in a sign of the increasingly lucrative cross-pollination between fashion, music and sports.

He presented his second show late on Jan. 16 among the fairground rides of the Jardin d'Acclimatation, a stone's throw from the company's Louis Vuitton Foundation art museum, estimated to have cost some 800 million euros to build.

There has been criticism from local officials over the brand's intrusions on daily life in Paris, particularly after Williams took over the entire Pont Neuf bridge for his debut runway show last summer, shutting down traffic circulation in the city's historic center.