Pharrell Williams took time at a masterclass at Chanel’s new craftsmanship hub in Paris on Wednesday to praise the French luxury brand for its efforts to promote diversity. Speaking a day after creative director Virginie Viard presented her Métiers d’Art collection at the venue, dubbed 19M, the rapper and entrepreneur commended the site for supporting Chanel’s mainly female workforce and creating opportunities for people from the surrounding neighborhood near Porte d’Aubervilliers, an area that in recent years has dealt with an influx of homeless migrants.
