Matthew M. Williams

Matthew M. Williams is an American designer born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1985 and raised in California. Without a conventional fashion-school education, he entered the industry through music, costume and image-making, working with Kanye West and Lady Gaga and later participating in the Been Trill collective. He launched ALYX in 2015; the label became 1017 ALYX 9SM in 2018 and developed through clothing, accessories and collaborations centred on technical production and distinctive hardware.

Givenchy appointed Williams creative director of its women’s and men’s collections in June 2020. His departure was announced on 1 December 2023 and took effect at the end of that year. Following new investment, he reset 1017 ALYX 9SM in 2024, then introduced MWM in June 2025 as a self-funded, namesake “clothing project” operating on a smaller two-collection schedule. From 2024 onward, his work has been organised through these independent projects.

Williams approaches clothing as a system of products, components and manufacturing decisions. Metal buckles, closures, technical fabrics and modular details often determine the structure of a garment and become part of its construction. The rollercoaster buckle associated with 1017 ALYX 9SM is the clearest example, but the broader method extends to workwear, sportswear, tailoring, footwear and surface treatments. Utility is refined through precise fabrication and controlled proportions.

His later MWM project shifts that vocabulary towards quieter essentials: Japanese denim, straightforward T-shirts, slim shoes and lightweight boots made through suppliers he trusts. The industrial character remains present through material quality, fit, function and value. At Givenchy, Williams applied the same hardware-led attention to the categories of a couture house. Across projects, the stable thread is product development shaped by engineering, repeat use and tactile construction.