Pharrell Williams Adds Lego Designer to Resume, Releasing Set Inspired By His Film ‘Piece by Piece’
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Pharrell Williams‘ latest collaboration has officially blasted off ahead of his animated biopic, Piece by Piece, hitting theaters this month. From Grammy-winning producer, to fashion mogul, and even skincare line creator, Williams has now added Lego co-designer to his resumé, releasing a new build set inspired by the “boundless potential of human creativity.”
The Lego x Pharrell Williams “Over the Moon” Builder Set ($109.99) is available online now, featuring a glistening black-and-gold space shuttle taking flight, the shuttle propelled by a colorful jet-stream. The set includes 966 pieces in total, including 51 different minifigure heads (with Pharrell and Helen Williams, of course), with the widest range of skin tones for minifigures ever created and 49 unique interchangeable character heads. “The abacus of ‘Phriends’ was a really beautiful opportunity…,” Williams said in a statement, “to help open the doors for humans, and not just one kind.”
“Growing up, I was obsessed with space and the infinite possibilities it represents,” Williams spoke of the set. “This partnership aims to inspire creativity and inclusivity. With my Lego Over the Moon set I want everyone to feel seen and empowered to imagine their own stories. The spaceship is blasting off, and you’re in the pilot seat.”
Williams relationship with Legos goes way back, with the artist’s own upcoming documentary being shot by director Morgan Neville entirely through Lego figures. Besides working with Lego designers for months to create this technicolor shuttle shooting for the moon, he also drew from his experience living near an Air Force base when he was growing up. “We lived in the crash zone of the Air Force Base, where the Blue Angels would fly all the time,” he told Lego. “I was raised at a time when mankind was obsessed with the heavens, technology, and ultimately rocket systems. Growing up, the space shuttle was the thing that we saw as something which could take you beyond not only where you were, but, like, to the Moon.”
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Lego designer George Gilliatt mentioned that the most difficult part of designing this set was actually buidling the jet-stream at an angle so it wouldn’t come crashing down to earth (or on your shelf). “Many different techniques were trialed, including making the entire bottom of the model out of slope bricks,” he spoke of the set. “But in the end, we settled for creating some triangles out Lego Technic triangles that happened to perfectly match the angles of some of our slope bricks – which allows the jet stream to protrude seamlessly out of the cloud base.”
The Pharrell Williams x Lego Over the Moon is available to order now on Lego’s website and Target.com. Along with this exclusive set, Piece by Piece featuring Williams, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Timbaland, Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes and Snoop Dogg, premieres in theaters on Oct. 11.