Matthew M. Williams is an American entrepreneur, creative, and fashion designer. He is the co-founder of the fashion brand 1017 ALYX 9SM and was appointed as the creative director of Givenchy’s men’s and women’s collections in June 2020.
Williams was born in Evanston, Illinois on October 17, 1985, and grew up in Pismo Beach, California. His parents worked in the medical field.
As a child, Williams wanted to become an emergency room doctor, but as a teenager, he developed an interest in skateboard culture, soccer, and music.
At the age of 18, Williams realized that fashion could be a career after interning with a soccer coach who owned a clothing brand.
Although he took one semester of art classes at the University of California, he never pursued any formal fashion training.
Despite being rejected by the Parsons School of Design, Williams landed a job as a production manager and learned the business of running a clothing label.
He discovered costume design through music stylists and helped design a jacket with embedded LEDs for Kanye West’s Grammy Awards performance with Daft Punk in 2007.
Impressed by Williams’ creativity, West asked him to join his team. Williams eventually moved from costume design for West to art directing videos and setting up the studio for West’s first fashion brand, Pastelle, as well as his creative content company, DONDA.
In 2012, Williams formed the art and DJing collective Been Trill with Heron Preston, Virgil Abloh, Justin Saunders, and Williams.
Williams met Lady Gaga in a sushi restaurant, which led to a close friendship and an intense creative collaboration.
He was the first artistic director of the “Haus of Gaga” from 2008 to 2010, nicknamed “Dada” by her fans. Williams went on to create notable costumes for the singer as she gained international stardom.
The brand was originally called ALYX and started by Matthew, Jennifer (his then-wife), and Luca Benini in 2015. Jennifer managed global sales for the brand until 2019.
They debuted Alyx for Fall-Winter 2015, a women’s wear brand named after their eldest daughter.
Through his label 1017 Alyx 9SM, Williams began collaborating with international brands such as Dior, Nike, Moncler, Bang & Olufsen, and Mackintosh.
Williams collaborated with Dior on accessories for the Spring-Summer 2019 collection, bringing his industrial aesthetic to selected pieces through a utility buckle inspired by a rollercoaster ride.
He also collaborated with Nike in January 2020, Moncler in February 2020, Louisahhh in November 2021, and XIN in March 2021.
In June 2020, Williams became the Creative Director of Givenchy’s men’s and women’s collections, and he launched his first collection in December 2020.
Williams was married to Jennifer Murray, and they have two daughters, Alyx and Valetta.
He also has a son named Cairo from a previous relationship with costume designer Erin Hirsh. Williams was previously in a relationship with Lady Gaga.
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