From punk rock Manchester to London catwalks and beyond, Matthew Williamson’s journey is a masterclass in creativity, ambition, and reinvention. Adam Maidment reports.
Matthew Williamson, who grew up in Manchester, has built up a respectable almost-30-year career stemming both fashion and interior design(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Renowned designer Matthew Williamson felt the magnetic pull of the world of fashion and beauty from an early age. Growing up in Chorlton until he was 17, he would watch his mother take great pride in her appearance as she got ready for her sales job at a jewellery store.
“She was this beacon of glamour,” Matthew, now 54, recalls. “She was always super well presented and she made getting ready a bit of a ritual. I used to watch her and observe, it was surface level, but it ran quite deep for me. It always felt like everybody gravitated towards her like fireflies. I can definitely see how that inspired me and my career.”
Today, Matthew stands as one of the most respected in both the world of fashion and interiors. He unleashed his first Electric Angels runway collection at London Fashion Week in 1997 despite having only graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins college in London just three years earlier. The opportunity came about after daringly sending a package of his work to the British Vogue offices – reaching the attention of Plum Sykes, then fashion assistant at the magazine.
That 1997 runway presentation from Matthew’s self-titled fashion house, co-founded with Joseph Velosa, featured top models like Kate Moss and Jade Jagger showcasing a range of designs in bright fuchsias and magentas. Certainly no small fry for a debut collection and it made waves in all the right places.
Matthew says the ‘glitz and glamour’ of his mother has always served as one pivotal inspiration for his designer career(Image: BRIT Awards/PA Wire/PA Wire)
In the years following, he designed red carpet outfits for the likes of Sienna Miller, Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue. He also spent three years as the creative director of Pucci, had his work featured in a Prince music video, and opened a store in Mayfair. Ten years after his first LFW appearance, a retrospective exhibition of his work went on display at London’s Design Museum.
In 2013, just a year after marking 15 years in the world of fashion, Matthew decided to be daring once again. He decided to expand the empire heading into the world of interior design – starting with a range of home fabrics and wallpapers with British manufacturer Osborne & Little.
“I think I’ve worked out fairly recently that I’m not very good at just doing one thing,” Matthew recently said at a panel event at the University of Manchester. “I did fashion for nearly 20 years, but I definitely started to feel a bit jaded by the process because of how cynical it all became. You do four collections a year, you’re chasing your tail all the time. It all became a bit too rinse, wash, repeat for me.
“So I pivoted into interior design. I feel like my fashion years all felt like training for this. My education and experience steered me into what I do now. Sometimes I’ll design a lamp or linens, then I’ll be commissioned to design a hotel suite or a cocktail bar.”
A model walking the runway at the Matthew Williamson show during London Fashion Week 2015(Image: Getty Images)
That varied career now also stems into the world of trophy-making. Earlier this year, it was announced that Matthew had created the BRIT Award 2026 trophy which will be given out to each winner at the top music event when it is held in Manchester in February for the first time in its history.
Since 2011, the music event has enlisted a different designer each year to put their vision and creativity into their own award. It started with Dame Vivienne Westwood, with the honour having since also been bestowed upon the likes of Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Sir Peter Blake, Anish Kapoor, Dame Zaha Hadid and Gabriel Moses.
“It feels like a real 360 moment, it’s a real milestone for me,” Matthew says of being chosen as the 2026 designer. “I grew up watching the BRITs as a little boy. I used to watch it with my parents and was fascinated by every aspect of the show – the fashion, the production, the presenters, the red carpet.”
Asked by the M.E.N which trophies speak to him the most, Matthew is cautious to single-out a favourite. “I think the trophies by Damien Hurst and Dame Vivian Westwood stand out the most to me. Westwood did the first one, so that will always be the one to look up to, but what I think is great is that they are all wonderful. They all have their own uniqueness about them, they have markers of each of the designers.
Matthew said he’s beyond honoured to have designed the 2026 BRIT Awards trophy as it comes to Manchester for the first time(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
“It’s lovely when you’re able to design things and they go off to a certain market, but this feels like something that’s much bigger. It definitely feels like there’s many, many more eyes on you when you do something like this, so it’s important to get it right.”
For his design, Matthew’s trophy is made out of amber toned resin. The traditional BRIT statue is positioned on top of a globe, aiming to represent the worldwide reach of the British music scene. Of course, the amber is said to resemble the golden honey of Manchester’s worker bee mascot.
“I guess the centre of the ethos of the worker bee is that they’re hardworking,” he details when asked why he thinks the worker bee has become so synonymous with his home city. “That work ethic of creating something from nothing and working as a team for the greater good. There’s something magnificent and quite selfless about the worker bee.”
Matthew’s BRIT Award represents the significance and the hardworking nature of Manchester and its worker bee mascot(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Matthew says he also tried to envision the spirit and ‘great outlook’ of the city into his design – the same spirit he can vividly recall from growing up in the city. Whilst now living in a ‘remote village’ within the mountains of Mallorca, he can still remember his first job in town and his weekends spent on Manchester’s many dancefloors.
“My first job was sweeping fabric off the floor of a design studio,” he explains. “It was very expensive fabric, and my role was to sweep round the designers and decant all their chopped fabrics. I’d put them into little plastic bags and take them home so I could zigzag these little scraps of lace together to make dresses.
Matthew Williamson pictured with Sienna Miller in 2013(Image: FilmMagic)
“As a young teenager, I felt that creativity was always at the centre of things here in Manchester. Afflecks Palace to me was my escape from the everyday, it was six floors of these really expressive people – be they punk rockers, mods or teddy boys. I used to go there every Saturday, spend £20 on fabric for myself and my girlfriend, and create matching outfits for us to wear to the Haçienda that evening.”
Matthew says he has already promised his parents a seat at the BRITs next year so they can see the eventual winners pick up his latest piece of work in what is set to be a visual representation of the varied and expansive career he has had in nearly 30 years.
“I think, without a doubt, the city is going to show up and make sure it’s a celebration to remember,” he says of how he expects the ceremony to go down here in Manchester. “I think it’s really going to be great and I am so honoured that I get to play a part in it.”