Pharrell Reveals His Throwback Style Secrets

[Upbeat rap music]

This record I was like, you know what

I really wanna feel it.

I wanna get high off the music, man.

I want my body to fuckin' feel something.

I miss that, 'cuz shit is so disposable.

You know, I never take any of this for granted

because I've been doing this for so long and

I can't believe anyone still gives a shit.

[female laughter]

When I first, first got into the music

industry, Kelis was a dear friend and

an artist that we had on the label.

All I used to wear was Ralph Lauren and

she used to tell me all the time, you have to diversify

you can't just wear Polo all the time.

You know, you have to check out Versace or check out Prada.

Most of my style just comes from things that

I see on everyday people who are really living

their life, like they dress for the intention

of what they have to do that day.

A guy that works in lumber or a truck driver or an athlete.

It's the way that they wear them that inspired

me to go, oh man, I could take that and do this with it.

[rhythmic upbeat music]

In school, we looked up to A Tribe Called Quest,

we looked at De La Soul and they were wearing

leather medallions at the time that had like,

African, pro-black, and Malcolm X and all

these interesting schools of thought

that pertain to our experiences as African Americans

and I never forget the day I looked up,

fast forward, being such a purist.

I went to a BET show and they brought back Slick Rick.

Just so crazy with the diamond eye patch.

The rest of the show, it might have been a good show but,

from that point on, all I could think about was

the conversation that I was going to have with

Jacob the Jeweler about what we were going to make.

That was a era where being gaudy and

being bragadocious was a cool thing to do.

Now, it'd be incredibly cringed out and

embarrassed but that duality, that fight

between where I come from and then

what I felt like I had to prove,

it took a long time for that to just bubble down.

There's no college course on how to start

out in our business, you know.

You just do a lot of dumb shit.

Then, you realize it's not really about that.

Becoming a dad and recognizing that there's

a much bigger picture and becoming

a husband, solidify what is that I want.

[upbeat rap music]