In an exclusive interview, the musician, producer and innovator explains why he’s auctioning 20 years’ worth of sneakers, watches and jewellery via his latest business venture, Joopiter
. His cast-offs, most of which have had some creative input from him, will launch the site when it goes live this month; later, it will expand to selling other curators’ collections as part of what Williams refers to as a “high-touch, white-glove” operation.
Observing him leaning serenely back on the couch, encircled by his creations – yellow Stan Smith sneakers embossed with 1,600 Swarovski crystals; an enormous Louis Vuitton trunk bearing the logo of his streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club – the effect is of a king surrounded by long-accumulated treasures. “I am, you know, literally the son of a pharaoh,” he says quite seriously, in a reference to his father’s first name, as two diamond necklaces glitter magnificently around his neck.
Today, Williams’ teenage son Rocket potters around the room taking videos with a handheld camera, surrounded by scattered nuggets from his father’s life in fashion: the Moncler vest from 2010 draped over another couch to our left, featuring a print by Japanese artist Keita Sugiura; chunky red Timberland boots from 2014, a year after Williams won three Grammy Awards for his work on Daft Punk’sTimberland x BBC Bee Line hand-painted boots, worn when Pharrell accepted his star on the Hollywood Walk...