American designer Matthew M. Williams is set to leave his position as the head designer at Givenchy. Having held the role for just over three years, Williams took over after British designer Clare Waight Keller. Williams’ departure from Givenchy will be effective as of January 1st.
Givenchy has expressed its gratitude to Williams for his contributions to the brand and wished him success in his future endeavors. Williams, in turn, expressed his appreciation to Givenchy for the opportunity to work with them and mentioned that he will now shift his focus to developing his own brand, 1017 Alyx 9SM.
Co-founded by Williams and Luca Benini, 1017 Alyx 9SM entered the women’s fashion market in 2015, with Williams becoming a finalist for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers a year later. The brand expanded into menswear in 2017 and has gained a strong reputation in the high-end streetwear industry, collaborating with renowned brands such as Nike and Audemars Piguet.
The name “1017” is a tribute to Williams’ birthday, which falls on October 17th, while “Alyx” is the name of his daughter. The “9SM” in the brand’s name is derived from the address of their first studio in New York.
The announcement of Williams’ departure coincides with the news of a financial partnership between 1017 Alyx 9SM and businessman Adrian Cheng. Cheng, a billionaire from Hong Kong, has acquired a majority stake in the brand.
Givenchy has revealed that their upcoming collections will be developed by their in-house creative team until they appoint a new creative director who will begin a fresh creative phase for the brand.
For more information on Matthew M. Williams’ departure from Givenchy, you can visit link 1 and to learn about 1017 Alyx 9SM, click link 2.
