Matthew Williams Announces His Exit from Givenchy
Courtesy of Dominique Charriau
Matthew Williams, the dark and edgy designer, and Givenchy are parting ways. On December 1st, 2023, he announced his departure from the French luxury house to pursue other projects. After becoming creative director of Givenchy in June of 2020, he will leave Givenchy on January 1, 2024. Givenchy took to Instagram to speak about the departure. Givenchy stated through an Instagram caption on the designer that “The House extends its gratitude to Matthew M. Williams for his leadership and contribution to the latest chapter of Givenchy. During a press release, Williams discussed his feelings about leaving the brand after three short years, and how it positively impacted him. He stated, “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 .…”, showing his appreciation for his time working with the brand. Through the media, it seems that the mutual feelings of appreciation were running through Williams and the brand. He explained his new ventures, where he will be designer for his brand, “1017 ALYX 9SM”, when he steps down from the position at Givenchy.
Courtesy of Instagram: @Givenchy
Williams exits the brand in the beginning of 2024, he is leaving Givenchy with one more of his projects. His last designs for Givenchy, released on December 5th, is the Pre-Fall Men’s and Women’s collection. The collection embodies his designs as a whole, focusing on sleek and sharp eveningwear, with elements of sporty casual clothing. When Givenchy chose Williams as their creative director in 2020, the hope was for him to rebrand the fashion house, to make it more modern and suitable for younger consumers (mainly for gen-z shoppers). With the collection designed by him, he achieved that goal in the short time he was creative director. He created designs that kept in tune with Givenchy’s original aesthetic while transitioning into a new consumer market and a new generation. As he ventures onto new projects and the pursuit of his own labels, there’s no debate that he will be successful wherever he goes next.
Following are some of his designs for Givenchy
(and a few photos from the Givenchy
Pre-Fall 2024 Collection)
Men’s & Women’s Pre-Fall 2024 - Courtesy of Givenchy
Men’s & Women’s Pre-Fall 2024 - Courtesy of Givenchy
Spring/Summer 2021 - Courtesy of Givenchy
Fall/Winter 2022 - Courtesy of Givenchy
Fall/Winter 2023 - Courtesy of Givenchy
Kendall Jenner at the 2021 Met Gala - Getty Images Gigi Hadid at the 2023 Met Gala - Getty Images
Article by Gabrielle Ramos, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Chenglin Qu, Graphic Design Intern, PhotoBook Magazine
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