BRANDS ON FIRE: how Matthew Williams brought 1017 ALYX 9SM to the top of fashion

In a scene dominated by established fashion houses and streetwear lines, the 1017 ALYX 9SM brand traces a somewhat different path made of high quality materials mixed with different subversive cultures. And that is perhaps why it is already at the top of fashion.

It all started when …

Matthew Williams as a teenager, convinced his grandmother to buy him a skate shirt that, without knowing it, said the phrase “F-k you”. At first glance, in fact, it was just an abstract logo (the dirty word only appeared when the fabric was folded in half) and this made Matthew Williams aroused every time he put it to school and no one noticed it.

A perfect crime therefore for a boy obsessed with fashion and the malice often hidden in it.

Let’s say that over the years Matthew has had great chances to “vent” those that were his subversions, working with Lady Gaga, Kanye West and especially the subversive brand par excellence like Alexander McQueen.

But inside himself, he felt it was not enough.

Matthew Williams and 1017 ALYX 9SM: a real love story

Founded in 2015 by Matthew Williams, Alyx Studio is a luxury label with a start-up attitude and strong ties to street cultures. The official name “1017 ALYX 9SM“, which was updated last May in view of the Paris Fashion Week, includes in itself, a numerical reference to the date of birth of Williams, the name of his daughter and an abbreviation of the foundation study of the brand in Saint Mark’s Place in New York City.

Based in New York, but with production in Italy, the Alyx product is a strong mix of the designer’s Californian influences, his focus on details, innovation and the desire to push new ideas forward.

Slender tailoring, luxury fabrics, graphic knitwear and accessories that are still elegant and aggressive. The silhouettes also contrast the traditional fashion standards, highlighted by avant-garde construction techniques, radicalized proportions and more or less vulgar word games.
These are the key points that make the 1017 ALYX 9SM a brand from the complete wardrobe and transform it into a futuristic avant-garde, which is in some way both perverse and tactical.

Although the brand is born as a line of women’s clothing, the men’s collections have already breached the hearts of stars like Kanye West, Travis Scott, Tom Sachs, a fierce horde of fashionable kids and literally drives all the people of Instagram crazy.

Slim pants in cashmere gabardine and buttoned shirts perfectly match sartorial and slim workwear silhouettes, while the subtle details and the embroidered graphics adorn leather pants, backpacks and the now classic safety belts.

With designs that are both strange and familiar, displayed in meticulously stylized and clicked look-books, Williams presents to his public collections that act as a bridge between fashion and art.

And here comes the novelty:

to bring up a luxury never seen before where subcultures seemingly different from each other as streetwear and punk coexist under the same roof with a naturalness out of the ordinary.

1017 ALYX 9SM, synonymous with the new era’s street-couture, is definitely a rapidly growing brand, so expect to see a lot more in the near future.

Posted By

Francesca Montuschi

Trendsetter sin dai tempi dell'asilo (già allora decidevo i miei outfit). Giornalista di moda, sempre alla ricerca di nuove tendenze, ma nostalgica dell'eleganza del passato.