Matthew Williamson

Matthew Williamson born 23 October 1971

Matthew Williamson is a British fashion designer.

Matthew Williamson was born in Chorlton, Manchester. He grew up and studied there until the age of 17, when he was offered a place on the degree course at Central St Martins. Matthew graduated in 1994 with a BA in Fashion Design and Printed Textiles.

His first job after graduating was a freelance design project with Marni. He was then employed by the British fashion company Monsoon & Accessorise. While at Monsoon, Matthew also worked on developing fabric swatches of his own designs containing detailed beading and embroidery.

Matthew Williamson Company was founded in February 1997 by designer, Matthew Williamson and CEO, Joseph Velosa.

In the Summer of 1997, a cold call to British Vogue led to a meeting Plum Sykes, the then fashion assistant at the magazine. Encouraged by her reaction to his ideas, Matthew created a small women’s wear collection which resulted in a September fashion show comprising a mere 11 outfits.

His achievements in the fashion industry have been recognised consistently: Matthew Williamson won Elle designer of the year 2004 was awarded the 2005 Moet & Chandon fashion tribute and has received numerous nominations. He has also been nominated three times as designer of the year at the British fashion awards.

Whilst continuing at the design helm of his namesake company, in 2005 Matthew took over as the Creative Director at Emilio Pucci, the luxury Italian fashion house owned by LVMH. Having always loved Emilio Pucci’s work from the 60s and 70s, this step was a dream come true for Williamson.

He counts celebrities such as Cat Deeley, Sienna Miller, Kelis, Jade Jagger and Plum Sykes amongst his friends, but has sometimes been criticised by others in the fashion industry for using them to promote his designs.

2007 marked the 10 year anniversary for Matthew Williamson, since the debut Electric Angels show back in September 1997. To celebrate this, Matthew Williamson curated an exhibition focusing on the design and process of his work at the Design Museum London.

Matthew Williamson