After a brief pause, fashion’s ever-turning merry-go-round of designer appointments and exits continues to spin today with the news that American designer Matthew M Williams is leaving Givenchy after a three-year tenure as creative director of the storied Parisian fashion house.
Rising to prominence with his 2015-founded label 1017 ALYX 9SM, Williams – who is also a prolific collaborator, having previously been creative director for Lady Gaga and worked alongside Kim Jones at Dior – the designer was appointed to lead Givenchy’s men’s and womenswear collections in June 2020.
His collections for the house would fuse his industrial, streetwear-tinged aesthetic with references to Hubert de Givenchy’s classical silhouettes, while his expertise in accessories – 1017 ALYX 9SM is perhaps best-known for its ‘rollercoaster’ buckle, which adorns jewellery and leather goods – led to a slew of new handbags for the house, including the slouchy ‘Voyou’ bag.
Matthew M Williams to leave Givenchy
Matthew M Williams takes a bow at the his S/S 2023 menswear show for Givenchy
The latter, he told Wallpaper*, was inspired by a melding of Parisian elegance with Californian cool, a juxtaposition which informed his collections (particularly those of the last few seasons, which were his most successful for the house). ‘Everything began with Hubert… I looked into his archives with my adopted Parisian eye, but also with my instinctive American eye,’ he said of his S/S 2023 womenswear collection. ‘The cultural exchange reflected in this collection has been a long time in the making.’
‘Leading the creative direction of Givenchy was, as I said upon my arrival in 2020, the dream of a lifetime,’ Williams said today. ‘Over these three years, I have strived to perpetuate Mr Hubert de Givenchy's legacy while bringing my own creative vision and I would like to sincerely thank the studio, Renaud de Lesquen, and LVMH for this incredible opportunity.’
The designer will continue to focus on 1017 ALYX 9SM, which recently saw Hong Kong entrepreneur Adrian Cheng purchase a majority stake, signalling a lucrative new chapter for the brand.
‘I would like to thank Matthew for all the energy he brought to Givenchy. His collections, resolutely creative and contemporary, have sparked a new dynamic and found their audience,’ adds Renaud de Lesquen, president and CEO of Givenchy. ‘I join everyone who has had the pleasure of working with Matthew in wishing him every success in his next ventures.’
As of yet, there is no word of a replacement, though it is rumoured that Givenchy is already in the process of finding the house’s next creative director, who will follow in the footsteps of names including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Clare Waight Keller.
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