Pharrell Williams has been tapped as the style director at South African clothing retailer Woolworths.
Pharrell will key-in on sustainability-focused projects for the brand. Woolworths announced the partnership at press conference in Johannesburg on Thursday (April 9).
“Williams is a global icon for social cohesion, advancement through education and environmental awareness,” said Ian Moir, the CEO of Woolworths. “These same values lie at the heart of our business and from the foundation on which this partnership is built. We hope Pharrell will help us make sustainability cool for the next generation of South Africans and help us create a better future for our children, our country and our planet.”
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The collaboration is the first of its kind for a South African retailer. In addition to working with Woolworths, Pharrell will be teaming up with MySchool to help raise $100 million for South African schools. He’ll also be spearheading a T-shirt design competition, where students will be asked to create and submit designs for T-shirts that celebrate sustainability. Pharrell will select his favorite designs and the winning images will be produced and sold in Woolies stores across the country. Each winner will also receive $25,000 in prize money. Singing groups from schools across the country will also be competing to sing onstage with Pharrell during his MySchool concert series.
Pharrell details the campaign in a promotional visual.
“We’re announcing a new and great collaboration to work together to uplift education in South Africa, for food farming that goes easy on the planet and to create fashion that is not just cool but also sustainable,” Pharrell explains in a promo video. “This is very near and dear to my heart, we want to bring together everyone around the world cares about making a difference… like Woolworths. They are a global blueprint for how global businesses should do good business.”
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Check out the video below:
Proud to collab with retailer @Woolworths_SA. Are you with us, South Africa? See you in September! #PharrellWithWoolies
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) April 9, 2015
For more Pharrell coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
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