Kith’s Ronnie Fieg, model Coco Rocha, A$AP Ferg and Pusha T all turned out with Adidas brand ambassador Pharrell Williams for a great cause last night at the Brooklyn Museum — arts and music education in schools. The N.E.R.D lead and sneaker collaborator played man of the hour as the host of the event.
“Hopefully, [this event will] reverberate in a way so people who are not here or people who are hearing about it or reading about it will want to contribute as well because they understand the importance of protecting these young beautiful creative minds,” said Williams, sporting Dr. Martens paired with cropped pants and tube socks at the inaugural Yellow Ball. All ticket proceeds will be donated to the Young Audiences Arts for Learning, the nation’s largest arts-in-education network.
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Williams is ardently involved with charity as much as he is music, including his own From One Hand to AnOTHER program. As he continued to share his thoughts while on the arrivals carpet, he expressed how much the arts have afforded him and why they fuel his philanthropic efforts.
“Education and art is being defunded in a rapid way that doesn’t make sense, and it needs to be protected at all costs,” he said. “The arts have given me everything that I have, and music is the skeleton key that opens the other door to all these other things.”
Williams has touched countless areas under the arts throughout his career, including design (Adidas, BAPE, BBC, GStar and more), music and film production. Despite his seemingly natural inclination toward the creative space, he told FN that it was not something he ever envisioned for himself.
“I just never knew I would have this opportunity, so giving back is what we feel like we have to do,” Williams said at the ball, presented by American Express Platinum. “It’s a must. Protect those minds and support the environment that fosters creativity. We’ve got to protect that.”
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