Matthew Williamson Arkansas

Matthew Williamson was born in Chorlton, Manchester on 23rd October 1971. He studied in Manchester until he was 17, when he moved to London to start college at one of the most prestigious school in England, Central Saint Martins. Looking back, he admits that the world-famous college was "not the place for me". "St Martins is all about innovation,” he said, “about being the most edgy, about breaking ground in design and turning things on their heads. It's all very highly conceptualized - which is all fine and well and far be it from me to criticize. It just wasn't my way of working." Despite feeling this way, Williamson completed his course and graduated in 1994 with a BA 2:1 in Fashion Design and Printed Textiles, showing a "carnival dress" made from fabric swatches he picked up from Zandra Rhodes' studio floor as his senior design. "I just worked my way through college, always thinking in the back of my mind that St. Martins would be on my CV and that that was all I needed."

His first job after graduation was a freelance design project with Marni. He was then employed by the British fashion company Monsoon & Accessorize in London. Whilst working here he also worked on developing fabric swatches of his own designs containing detailed beading and embroidery. He also worked for Georgina Von Etzdorf for a while. This took a span of approximately two years.

In the summer of 1997, a cold call to British Vogue led to a meeting with the then fashion assistant, Plum Sykes. Encouraged by her reaction to his fabric swatches and ideas, Matthew created a small women’s wear collection which resulted in a September fashion show comprising a mere 11 outfits - unheard of for a fashion show. His beaded bags and scarves also caught the attention of Kate Moss, Helena Christianson, and Jade Jigger, around the time that Williamson was ready to launch his own clothes label with his business partner, Joseph Velosa, Which is why the three superstars in their own right agreed to model in his debut London Fashion Week debut show in 1997, “Electric Angels”, and Williamson was powered onto the international scene.

Since this first show, Williamson’s collections have continued to grow and strengthen, cementing his reputation as one of the UK’s leading designer talents.

Rooms 2 Decorate

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