1017 Alyx 9SM Men’s Spring 2024
Walking into Matthew M. Williams’ latest show for his 1017 Alyx 9SM label felt a bit like walking into Berghain when the famed Berlin techno club first flickers to life — the bass throbbing, not yet pounding, and the melodies swirling around the rafters.
Music helps feed Williams’ creativity and brand story, perhaps even more so this season. His buddy Jack Latham, better known as electronic music producer Jam City, conceived the soundtrack for Williams’ spring 2024 men’s show, and that’s the first thing the designer tells you backstage.
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“He just released an album last week. You guys should listen to it,” he suggested.
When his run-of-show board was plunked in front of him, Williams swirled his index fingers to indicate four members of the cast who are friends, most of them linked to burgeoning music scenes. They included Atlanta-based rapper Hardrock and British indie-rock artist Bakar.
All of the guys who walked the runway, strolling past the speaker towers dotted around the warehouse space, would easily get into Berghain, despite its notoriously tough door policy. They looked cool, confident and serious, dressed in Williams’ meticulously detailed and carefully calibrated brand of luxury streetwear.
Small silver grommets dotted along the raglan sleeves of an oversize blouson, or flanking the zipper of a mesh hoodie, added visual zing and an industrial edge to familiar Alyx archetypes. Ditto Williams’ signature rollercoaster buckles dangling from the loops of carpenter jeans, or small silver studs lined up on the sleeves of plaid shirts.
Williams often says he likes clothes with soul and he gave his rugged canvas coats, artfully stained jerseys and treated leather vests a slightly weathered, lived-in look, making it seem that his models actually owned these clothes.
During rehearsals, his slender cast wrapped in short black dressing gowns, all wore chunky soled boots and shoes that looked like their own, and it wasn’t only because they had some dust on the rubber heels. The footwear suited their youth and their ready-to-party attitude perfectly.
Launch Gallery: 1017 Alyx 9SM Men's Spring 2024
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