Louis Vuitton's symbiotic relationship with hip-hop was in full effect last Tuesday night in New York. Jay-Z, Mos Def, and two-thirds of the Beastie Boys, along with Spike Lee and Anne Hathaway, flocked to the French house's Greene Street store for a party thrown by Interview magazine. The fête's shady purpose? To celebrate the limited edition sunglasses that stylish rapper Pharrell Williams and designer pal Nigo of A Bathing Ape created under the watchful eye of Vuitton's Marc Jacobs.

"We were going for something regal with an edge of the old country, like the mafia," said Williams, between posing for cameras and mugging in the mirror. Not exactly, said a Vuitton spokeswoman, who claimed the shades were inspired by and named after characters and locations in the iconic gangsta film Scarface. The discrepancy didn't faze Nigo, who sported teal shades encrusted with rhinestones that glittered almost as brightly as his gold-and-diamond teeth. "He's crazy for the cat eyes," Williams said.

—Sarah Cristobal