Matthew M. "Dada" Williams is an American designer, creative, and entrepreneur. The co-founder of the fashion brand 1017 ALYX 9SM, he was creative director of Givenchy women's and men's collections from June 2020 to January 1, 2024.

Early life

Williams was born on October 17, 1985, in Evanston, Illinois. His parents worked in the medical field. When he was two years old, the family moved to Pismo Beach, California, where he grew up. As a child, he wanted to become an emergency room doctor. As a teen, he became interested in skateboard culture soccer and music, and would drive to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles to attend concerts and DJ sets. At 18, during an internship with a soccer coach who also owned a clothing brand, Williams realized that fashion could be a career. Williams took one semester of art classes at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

but never pursued any formal fashion training.

Career

Art direction

Despite being rejected from

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

, Williams landed a job as a production manager and began to learn the business of running a clothing label before discovering costume design through music stylists. In 2007,

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

's stylist asked Williams to design a jacket for his

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s performance with

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

. Williams helped design a jacket with embedded LEDs. Impressed by the 21-year-old designer's creativity,

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

asked Williams to join his team. Williams eventually moved from costume design for

to art directing videos and setting up the studio for West's first fashion brand, Pastelle, as well as his creative content company, DONDA. In 2012, ties with West led to the formation of the art and DJing collective Been Trill — made up of Heron Preston, Virgil Abloh, Justin Saunders and Williams, who describes it as "really just a fun thing to do." A chance encounter with

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

in a sushi restaurant led to a steadfast friendship and an intense creative collaboration. Nicknamed "Dada" by Gaga's fans when he was the first artistic director of the "Haus of Gaga" (2008 to 2010), Williams went on to create much-noted costumes for the singer as she attained international stardom.

1017 Alyx 9SM

Originally called ALYX, the brand was started by Matthew, Jennifer-his then wife, and Luca Benini in 2015. Jennifer Murray, Matthew's ex-wife, managed global sales for the brand until stopping in 2019. For Fall-Winter 2015, they debuted Alyx a women's wear brand named after their eldest daughter, a project to express their views.

1017 Alyx 9SM – Collaborations

Through his label 1017 Alyx 9SM, Williams soon began collaborating with international brands including Dior, Nike, Moncler, Bang & Olufsen, and Mackintosh.

Dior

At Dior, Kim Jones, the artistic director for men's wear, invited Williams to collaborate on accessories for the Spring-Summer 2019 collection. Williams brought his brutalist industrial aesthetic to selected pieces through a utility buckle inspired by a rollercoaster ride at Six Flags amusement park. On the men's wear runway, the buckle cropped up on belts, caps and backpacks.

Nike

In January 2020 Matthew Williams' collection for Nike was released:

Moncler

In February 2020, 1017 ALYX 9SM teamed up with Moncler for its Genius lines.

Louisahhh

In November 2021, 1017 ALYX 9SM teamed up with the Paris-based DJ Louisahhh to design a t-shirt to promote Louisahhh's new album, ''The Practice of Freedom''.

XIN

In March 2021, XIN announced a collaboration with 1017 ALYX 9SM.

Givenchy

In June 2020, Williams was appointed Creative Director of Givenchy collections for women and men, launching his first collection in December 2020. In November 2023, Williams' departure from Givenchy at the end of the year was announced.

Personal life

Williams was married to Jennifer Murray. They have two daughters, Alyx and Valetta. He has a son, Cairo, from a previous relationship with costume designer Erin Hirsh. He was also previously in a relationship with

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Matthew M. American fashion designers 1985 births Living people