The designer has been with the company since 2020. Image credit: Givenchy
The French fashion label has announced an impending exit.
Effective January 1, 2024, creative director Matthew Williams is leaving the company. The designer took up the position to oversee the menswear and womenswear categories in June 2020.
Departing director
Mr. Williams departs after three years with the luxury fashion brand, the news going live in a WWD exclusive published Friday morning.
According to the outlet, the talent’s contract with Givenchy is ending. His last collection will be the pre-fall 2024 release.
Mr. Williams took over as creative director of Givenchy following the conclusion of British fashion designer Clare Waight Keller’s term in April 2020.
Ms. Keller also held the post for three years.
The creative director's style often incorporates his Californian roots. Image credit: Paolo Roversi
At the time of his appointment, Mr. Williams was viewed as someone with his finger on the contemporary pulse of the fashion world, often collaborating with mega-stars and appealing to youth culture with his projects (see story).
Founded in the 1950s, Givenchy’s choice to bring a Californian with no technical formal training into the picture infused has the house with a decidedly modern and arguably edgy perspective.
He came aboard during the COVID-19 pandemic, releasing his first collection digitally in alignment with social distancing and quarantine protocols.
Its campaign came in September 2020. Inspired by the Love Locks found clasped onto Paris’ Pont des Arts bridge, the visuals pictured padlocks heavily (see story).
The motif centers popular styles today, the brand’s Lock Bag and Shark Lock boots included.
In 2015, the creative director founded his American apparel company 1017 ALYX 9SM in New York City.
In 2017, he relocated the business to Italy. Recent deals suggest the entrepreneur will now hone in on his own operations.
According to reports, Givenchy is kicking off the search for a successor.