1017 ALYX 9SM

1017 ALYX 9SM is a contemporary luxury label founded in 2015 as Alyx by Matthew M. Williams, Jennifer Murray and Slam Jam founder Luca Benini. The project began with womenswear and joined a New York and Californian subcultural viewpoint to development and production in Ferrara, where the partnership gave the young company access to Italian mills, hardware specialists and international distribution.

The name changed to 1017 ALYX 9SM in May 2018. Its numerical code combines Williams’s 17 October birth date with 9 Saint Mark’s Place, the address of the founding New York studio, while ALYX retains the name of his eldest daughter. Menswear, bags, footwear and jewellery expanded the original womenswear line, with the Rollercoaster buckle, Chest Rig and dense metal chains becoming recognisable parts of the brand’s product system.

C Capital, the investment vehicle associated with Adrian Cheng, acquired a majority stake in late 2023. The company subsequently announced a move towards direct retail, standalone stores and a Paris headquarters, while Williams reset the collections around quieter American wardrobe forms, natural textiles and the industrial hardware that had defined the label’s first decade.

Williams describes the label through aggressive elegance: tactical equipment, fetish hardware, skate and club references are subjected to the precision of Italian manufacturing. Military vests, cargo trousers, leather tailoring and compact bags retain their practical archetypes while proportion, material and finishing move them into a luxury register.

Hardware functions as construction and identity rather than applied decoration. The Rollercoaster buckle originated as an AustriAlpin safety mechanism, and its weight, sound and over-engineered closure became a sensory alternative to a printed monogram. The same attention extends to chains, zips, detachable soles and moulded footwear whose components determine how the product is handled and worn.

Material research connects this industrial language to recycled nylon, upcycled cotton, water-reduced dyeing and supply-chain traceability. Specialist partners are used as external research and development teams: Nike for performance systems, Mackintosh for bonded rainwear, Vibram for transformable soles and Moncler for technical down. Collaboration is therefore embedded in the way the brand develops products rather than treated only as promotion.