Matthew M. Williams - Designer

[MulletProof]

Also poor Matthew Williamson - everyone keeps reading his name at first.

Seriously, I just spent a lot of hours under the sun and burned some brain cells lol, I saw this and thought 'wait.. but you ALREADY designed at Givenchy..?! why is your accent American now? what is happening!'... had to remind myself 1. Matthew Williamson is NOT Julien Macdonald, they're just equally horrid plus same age/country, and 2. there's a Matthew Williamson and a Matthew Williams.

Guess Supreme is now Givenchy or Givenchy is Yeezy or something like that.. back to where they were (cause they weren't even great during McQueen's days and Riccardo was only good for like 3 years really).

 

[Yohji]

LOL!

I do wonder if it was the wallpaper business that made him bow out because I'm actually a closet fan of his. S/S 1999 and A/W 1999.20 were two of his best. Hope we'll see a Chalayan-type resurgence at some point.

He was very much a product of his time - I guess maybe he was savvy enough to realise that.

Ironically, when street style is on the outs that'll be bye-bye to Williams and his ilk.

 

[dodencebt]

As I previously said in this thread, I like Alyx and I think Matthew is a talented designer. I still have reservations about his couture, but I'm willing to give him a chance and see what he does.

 

[Kimihiro]

As I previously said in this thread, I like Alyx and I think Matthew is a talented designer. I still have reservations about his couture, but I'm willing to give him a chance and see what he does.

He’s improving his construction the last few seasons so there’s that. I hope it would be more conceptual or even crazy like his Gaga days. Anything typical wouldn’t be worth it. There’s tons of houses doing that far better.

 

[HeatherAnne]

Matthew nor Williamson is a six letter name, I demand a refund.

Not shocking, got to get the West/Kardashians back on the publicity train.

Fashion is dead.

 

[Nomar]

This is what I want to know. Who are really buying RTW particularly mens? It might not be a major money maker but it provides a halo. Cool and desirable RTW merchandise would make Gen Z invested in a brand the same way Tisci’s Givenchy was. I have this hunch that with LV and Dior Men they are making a killing at RTW and in turn make their leather goods more desirable. I want to know if it far exceeds the number produced by traditional buyers. If that’s the case I could see why they got Matthew. Even just for subverted Givenchy logo t-shirts and sneakers.

It might be a balancing act with them already covering “traditional luxury” with their all womenswear designers and at this point for men you could say Hedi and KVA are traditional already. Apart from the handbags, does “traditional luxury” sell? Or maybe that market has reached its ceiling already thus this expansion to more non-traditional choices.

From my experience being inside a Givenchy store recently, a lot of the consumers were quite young. Basically everyone was looking at the menswear and all anyone cared about was a fat logo being placed somewhere. I also found it interesting that not much of CWK's runway menswear actually gets translated to the stores, just a lot of t-shirts, sweats and hoodies.

I think it's too early to say how Matthew will be at Givenchy but I'm at least hopeful. We've already seen young designers like JW improve tremendously after taking over a brand like Loewe. He's got a strong background in accessories so maybe he can help them design a new 'it' bag, which the brand desperately needs.

 

[Kimihiro]

Basically everyone was looking at the menswear and all anyone cared about was a fat logo being placed somewhere.

I guess this might have informed LVMH with their decision. I remember seeing those Givenchy t-shirts right before the pandemic. Although the lack of an “it” bag could’ve been a really big factor.

 

[Lola701]

From my experience being inside a Givenchy store recently, a lot of the consumers were quite young. Basically everyone was looking at the menswear and all anyone cared about was a fat logo being placed somewhere. I also found it interesting that not much of CWK's runway menswear actually gets translated to the stores, just a lot of t-shirts, sweats and hoodies.

That’s the result of her lack of real vision. T-shirts and hoodies are entry-priced level items. A Givenchy T-shirt will always cost less than a bag or a coat. Clare’s pieces did not have the visual impact of Riccardo’s unfortunately. He was good at doing seasonal prints, at having a very defined cast that kinda defined his audience. It’s easier to sell clothes to women but you need a real vision to get men on board with whatever you are doing.

The problem is not really LVMH trying to milk the streetwear stuff but more choosing such a generic designer for it. There are many more talented and inventive designers doing that. I can still be surprised but I don’t think I will.

 

[kasper!]

This piece of news just keep reminds me how IT was Matthew Williamson early 2000s! His print is always so joyful.

OK back to topic.

A big NO.

 

[TaylorBinque]

Already the new photo series of his announcement and Day 1 on Instagram has given me gimmicky vibes. You know he has a direction and the marketing team are 100% behind it.

 

[eugenius]

So a man who can't make a dress is now designing for a label that has decades worth of gorgeous dresses? I guess I shouldn't be that shocked. Considering what YSL + Balenciaga look like nowadays, that really does seem like the new norm (and no, I don't mean George Wendt w/ a cloth mask over his face.)

I can't say I really know anything about his Alyx line, but from what I've seen in the past 20 minutes online, there's just really nothing there. Sure, I suppose it's "nice" streetwear, but I'm sure there's better lines out there that do this kind of look.

 

[iixcarmen]

Matthew's Givenchy is about to become the uglier, less-relevant-marching-band sister to Riccardo's older, hot-head-cheerleader sister everyone likes. So unfortunate, but not at all surprising.

I’m a newbie and I really admire the fact that you’ve got so many knowledges on fashion. Would you mind telling me why you think Givenchy under Matthew’s supervision will become worse?

 

[Kimihiro]

I think the new Antigona photos are indicative of where Matthew is going. I’m actually intrigued.

 

[Lola701]

I think the new Antigona photos are indicative of where Matthew is going. I’m actually intrigued.

The new Antigona was redesigned by Clare and the whole communication was decided under her tenure...

 

[Kimihiro]

The new Antigona was redesigned by Clare and the whole communication was decided under her tenure...

I see. I just felt The images were a departure from Claire’s usual style of over-crisp images.

 

[Lola701]

I see. I just felt The images were a departure from Claire’s usual style of over-crisp images.

He just started in early June and the bag was part of the Prefall and fall 2020 collections designed by Clare. Everything 2020 is still Clare.
The Givenchy team is still handling things but don’t worry, he will release soon his first design. Maybe he will direct a campaign as an introduction of his vision similar to what Hedi and Alessandro did.

I don’t think Clare had the time to do the campaign.

 

[aracic]

I’m a newbie and I really admire the fact that you’ve got so many knowledges on fashion. Would you mind telling me why you think Givenchy under Matthew’s supervision will become worse?

It's mostly my personal view of the situation. I never heard of this particular designer until he was announced to succeed Clare, so I had to look him up on the Internet and research some of his work for Alyx to see what he's all about. For me, it's quite similar to Riccardo's approach to streetwear (I only compare the two because of their connection through Givenchy), only it lacks Riccardo's vision and style. It's not my taste and I believe it all looks rather mediocre, obviously targeting hypebeasts with its simple and generic designs. Of course, he could still impress me and produce amazing collections under Givenchy but I'm not a fan of his previous works.

 

[bc collector]

For me, it's quite similar to Riccardo's approach to streetwear (I only compare the two because of their connection through Givenchy), only it lacks Riccardo's vision and style

I have to repeat myself, but maybe we should at least give the benefit of doubt to MW - who seems to be more influenced by Helmut Lang than by Tisci, imo.
Also, guys, maybe it should be reminded that even Riccardo's appointment, at the very start, raised more than one eyebrow. He had very little experience at the time to really be considered as a natural successor to John Galliano and Lee McQueen and he was mostly an industry secret, his appointment due mainly to Carine Roitfeld's not so secret support. And his success at Givenchy was not an overnight matter, it took him a good couple of years to really find his stride, the first collections left most buyers and press (except Carine and her team) quite cold.

 

[aracic]

I have to repeat myself, but maybe we should at least give the benefit of doubt to MW - who seems to be more influenced by Helmut Lang than by Tisci, imo.
Also, guys, maybe it should be reminded that even Riccardo's appointment, at the very start, raised more than one eyebrow. He had very little experience at the time to really be considered as a natural successor to John Galliano and Lee McQueen and he was mostly an industry secret, his appointment due mainly to Carine Roitfeld's not so secret support. And his success at Givenchy was not an overnight matter, it took him a good couple of years to really find his stride, the first collections left most buyers and press (except Carine and her team) quite cold.

I agree about Lang, but I keep bringing up the Tisci comparison because of Matthew's appointment at Givenchy.
Also, you're right. Most designers need several years to find their footing in a new house, especially with a name as big as Givenchy but the problem is that they never really get the chance to show us what they're capable of. CDs of major brands are literally like musical chairs these days, with a new designer taking over a brand every couple of seasons - which can be pretty damaging because each designer brings something different to the table and over time, the identity of the house simply gets lost in translation and it all turns into a big, ugly and meaningless mess.

 

[Lola701]

I have to repeat myself, but maybe we should at least give the benefit of doubt to MW - who seems to be more influenced by Helmut Lang than by Tisci, imo.
Also, guys, maybe it should be reminded that even Riccardo's appointment, at the very start, raised more than one eyebrow. He had very little experience at the time to really be considered as a natural successor to John Galliano and Lee McQueen and he was mostly an industry secret, his appointment due mainly to Carine Roitfeld's not so secret support. And his success at Givenchy was not an overnight matter, it took him a good couple of years to really find his stride, the first collections left most buyers and press (except Carine and her team) quite cold.

But I think the main difference is that Riccardo’s own collection and his first Couture really showed a talent. Riccardo’s appointment was due to his talent. If he wasn’t talented, MCB would have never talked about it to her boyfriend’s mother, who would have never talked about it to people at LVMH.

Riccardo’s success came with his 4th RTW collection and while the press was lukewarm at first (I remember the criticism he received in Paris for opening his FW06 collection with black girls, or the ambiance of his first RTW show), I don’t think his talent was ever questioned. And his clothes did well. His collections were commercial and did relatively well until his breakthrough. He had a 4years contract and delivered.

‘I’m willing to give Matthew a chance, much like I did with Clare buy the problem here (and it was the case with Alex Wang at Balenciaga) is the obvious reason of his hiring.

We aren’t in a era that worship talent unfortunately and the last few « LVMH coups » were business oriented. I’m the one who believes that good business is the result of talent. Look what they managed to do with Celine (under Phoebe) or Loewe...
Unless you have big titans brands, you needs to work on a long term.

I just hope that the next LVMH designers won’t be hire based on Alexandre Arnault’s friendships again.