Matthew Williamson (born 23 October 1971) is an interior designer known for his use of bold, colourful and carefully constructed designs.

Early years

Matthew Williamson was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and studied in Loreto College until he was 17 years old. He then moved to London to attend school at

Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of ...

, graduating in 1994.

Career

His eponymous fashion house was founded in February 1997. The same year, he debuted his collection 'Electric Angels' at

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

. His collections were displayed during

New York Fashion week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...

in 2002. His store at 28

Bruton Street Bruton Street is a street in London's Mayfair district. It runs from Berkeley Square in the south-west to New Bond Street in the north-east, where it continues as Conduit Street. Notable residents have included Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd ...

, in

Mayfair, London Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

, followed in 2004. In 2005, he launched his perfume range and the following year he was appointed Creative Director at

Emilio Pucci Don Emilio Pucci, Marchese di Barsento (; 20 November 1914 – 29 November 1992) was an Italian aristocrat, fashion designer and politician. He and his eponymous company are synonymous with geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colors. Early l ...

. In 2007, a runway show of his designs was incorporated into the video for

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

's song "Chelsea Rodgers" from his ''

Planet Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...

'' album. In 2007, the Design Museum, London, hosted a retrospective of his work entitled "Matthew Williamson – 10 years in Fashion". In 2008, Williamson was awarded the "Red Carpet Designer" accolade at the British Fashion Awards, where he has also received three nominations for Designer of the Year. In September 2008, Williamson returned to London full-time to focus fully on his own label's forthcoming ventures and expansion. He made a guest appearance on season 7 of ''

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...

''. The episode aired on 28 January 2010. In Autumn 2010, a self-titled book was published by Rizzoli. The book is written by Colin McDowell with a foreword by

Sienna Miller Sienna Rosie Diana Miller (born December 28, 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian ''Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli cal ...

, and contributions from

Anna Wintour Dame Anna Wintour (; born 3 November 1949) is a British journalist based in New York City who has served as editor-in-Chief of ''Vogue'' since 1988 and Global Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast since 2020; she is also the artistic directo ...

Alexandra Shulman Alexandra Shulman (born 13 November 1957) is a British journalist. She is a former Editor-in-Chief of British ''Vogue'', and became the longest serving Editor in the history of the publication. After assuming the role in 1992, she presided ov ...

and

Diane von Fürstenberg Diane von Fürstenberg (born Diane Simone Michele Halfin, 31 December 1946) is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as ...

. An accompanying photographic exhibition marked the book launch at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

. September 2012 marked the 15th anniversary of Williamson's career. To commemorate the occasion,
short film
was commissioned in association with

Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Austria, and has existed as a family-owned business since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal ...

. The film, titled ''XV'', stars friends of the brand including Sienna Miller,

Andrea Riseborough Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 20 November 1981) is an English actress and producer. She made her film debut with a small part in ''Venus'' (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008), '' Never Let Me Go ...

and

Poppy Delevingne Poppy Angela Delevingne (born 3 May 1986)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 3028 is an English model, socialite and blogger. Family and personal life Delevingne wa ...

. It was showcased exclusively on Net-a-Porter.com alongside a limited edition Swarovski collection of crystal dresses. Williamson then expanded into the home and lifestyle sectors. 2013 saw the launch of his collaboration with

Osborne & Little Osborne & Little is a British manufacturer and retailer of upmarket wallpaper and fabrics. It was established in 1968 and now has showrooms worldwide. It was among the brands included in the Victoria and Albert Museum's ''British Design 1948–20 ...

on a range of home furnishing fabrics and wallpapers. The second collection was released in 2014, titled 'Samana', and the third in 2015, titled 'Cubana'. In 2016, Williamson collaborated with Duresta to launch his first furniture collection, as well as cards, stationery and a designer colouring book featuring notable prints from the designer's previous fashion collections. In October 2016, Williamson launched a collaboration with United States homeware brand CB2, a division of

Crate & Barrel Euromarket Designs Inc., doing business as Crate & Barrel (stylized as Crate&Barrel), is an international furniture and home décor retail store headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. They employ 8200 employees across over 100 stores in the Uni ...

. In 2019, Williamson was the guest judge on episode 1 of the first series of ''Interior Design Masters'', which aired on 14 August 2019 on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. He returned in the eighth week to help judge the final, alongside fellow guest judge

Naomi Cleaver Naomi Cleaver (born 14 July 1967 in Whitstable, Kent, England) is a British design consultant and interior designer. She is also a television presenter of such programs as '' Other People's Houses'' and Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free ...

. Matthew is a continuing guest judge on the competition series, offering advice and appraisal to designers looking for their big break. Matthew will be returning to judge season 4 which airs in spring 2023. In 2022, Matthew launched a homeware collection for John Lewis. The range is characterised by his signature bold colours and maximalist botanical wallpapers, bedding, cushions, and towels alongside mirrors, lighting, and candles. Matthew’s collaboration is the biggest of its kind for the department store chain and will be ongoing, with a new collection to launch in 2023. Additionally in 2022, Matthew designed The Cocktail Club’s Birmingham location which is the bar’s biggest site to date. The cocktail bar’s decadent interior highlight’s Matthew’s distinct use of pattern and colour through the inclusion of leopard print sofas, gold leaf ceiling hangings, and a 1970s London Zoo cheetah centrepiece.

References

External links

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BBC Blast – Matthew WilliamsonMatthew Williamson @ Bartolomy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Matthew 1971 births Alumni of Central Saint Martins British fashion designers LGBT fashion designers High fashion brands Living people People from Chorlton-cum-Hardy