Matthew M. Williams teased his women’s fall collecti on for 1017 Alyx 9SM during Men’s Fashion Week in Milan, parading a big curly coat with spike-studded leather elbow patches; spangled silver shorts, and a fierce black jersey gown suspended from a spiky collar.
He unveiled the rest at the tail end of Paris Fashion Week, further elaborating on the springboard for both collections: painter Mark Flood.
Over a career spanning more than four decades, the Houston-based artist was prescient in his use of memes and mock corporate logos. “Choose” and “Star-Dom” figure among the verbiage plastered on the new Payton and Raya bags, and on the sides of cowboy-esque boots.
Williams had a blast approximating the smudged, stained, distressed quality of Flood’s artworks onto his collections, subjecting some garments to dyeing, washing, printing and, in some cases, burning. A few tops and pants feature delicate, frothy protrusions that echo Flood’s intricate lace paintings.
“I love [fabric] treatments and aging products,” the designer told WWD at the men’s show last January. “I think it gives a lot of soul to the clothes. It’s part of the DNA of my work, so I’m always experimenting with that, those happy accidents that you get in the process.”
Studs, meanwhile, were hand-applied by Italian artisans to bandanas, boots and on the knees and elbows of tailored garments.
