The creative director of Alyx and Givenchy has built a cult following by merging street culture aesthetics with practical garment construction in a luxury streetwear label, garnering global stockists from Dover Street Market and Selfridges to Ssense.
The Chicago-born creative director grew up surrounded by Californian skate culture. He established himself by working as a creative director for Lady Gaga and collaborating with Kanye West. Williams then founded men’s streetwear brand Been Trill with a collective that included creative directors such as Heron Preston and Virgil Abloh , helping him define his aesthetic grounded in streetwear.
In 2015, Williams founded Alyx with the help of Slam Jam’s Luca Benini, creating hard-edged luxury clothing with a deep affinity for street culture. Although the brand focused on womenswear for the first seasons, in 2017 Williams debuted the menswear collection, which became a hit with celebrities like Kanye West and Travis Scott .
In 2016, Alyx was selected a finalist for the LVMH Prize. The brand has collaborated with Vault by Vans, Mackintosh and Fragment, among others. Matthew Williams’ most recent partnership was with Nike in 2018, marking one of the sportswear giant’s first major collaborations with a fashion designer within its training division. He was also tapped by Dior Men creative director Kim Jones to lend his brutalist industrial aesthetic to the brands Spring/Summer 2019 collection, making a buckle for Dior's accessories.
Williams relocated his wife Jennifer, who runs the sales side of the business, and their two children, to the label’s point of production in Ferrara, Italy.
In June 2020, Williams was appointed creative director at Givenchy taking on creative responsibility for women’s and men’s collections, where he succeeds Claire Waight Keller. Williams continues to operate Alyx independently.
