Photograph by Neil Gavin

• Matthew Williamson was born October 23rd, 1971 in Chorlton, Manchester.

• He grew up and studied there until the age of 17, when he was offered a place on the Fashion Design degree course at Central St Martins College, London.

• Matthew graduated Central St Martins in June 1994 with a BA 2:1 in Fashion Design and Printed Textiles.

• His first job following his graduation was a freelance design project with Marni.

• Matthew was then employed by British fashion company Monsoon and Accessorize.

• Matthew Williamson Ltd was founded in February 1997 by Matthew Williamson (President) and business partner Joseph Velosa (C.E.O.).

• During the summer of 1997, a cold call to British Vogue led to a meeting with Plum Sykes, then a fashion assistant at the magazine. Encouraged by her reaction to his ideas, Matthew created a small womenswear collection which resulted in a September fashion show comprising 11 outfits.  His debut show was called “Electric Angels” and included models, Jade Jagger, Kate Moss, Helena Christensen and Diane Kruger.

• Matthew Williamson flagship store opened in 28 Bruton Street, London, United Kingdom in March 2004.

• Matthew won Elle Designer of the Year 2004 and was awarded the 2005 Moet and Chandon Fashion Tribute. He has also been nominated 3 times as Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards.

• In February 2002 Matthew Williamson made the decision to show at New York Fashion week.  Matthew Williamson continues to show in New York, with the exception of his Spring 2008 show which was shown at London Fashion Week as a one-off in celebration of the label’s 10th year anniversary (where the artist Prince performed to open the show).  Matthew will return to New York Fashion Week in February 2008 to show his Autumn Winter 2008 collection.

• Whilst continuing at the design helm of his namesake company, in 2005 Matthew Williamson took over as the Creative Director at Emilio Pucci, the luxury fashion house owned by LVMH.

• In August 2007 TSM Capital acquired an equity stake in Matthew Williamson Holdings Ltd.  Baugur Group, which invested in the company in 2006 maintain a significant equity interest in the business.  TSM Capital made the investment in collaboration with the Aronsson Group.  Matthew Williamson and Joseph Velosa, the company’s founders, between them retain the majority stake in the company.

• Matthew Williamson’s Spring 2008 collection marks the 10th year anniversary for Matthew Williamson, since the debut “Electric Angels” show in September 1997. To celebrate this to full effect, Matthew Williamson has curated an exhibition focusing on the design and process of his work titled “Matthew Williamson - 10 Years in Design” which launched at The Design Museum, London on 17th October 2007 and will run until 31st January 2008 before travelling to Urbis, Manchester and thereafter to other international destinations.

• Matthew Williamson, currently lives in Hampstead, London and splits his time between London and Florence working for both his own label and the LVMH owned, Emilio Pucci as Creative Director.