Matthew Williamson was born in Chorlton, Manchester on 23 October 1971. He grew up and studied there until the age of 17, when he was offered a place at Central Saint Martins. Matthew graduated in 1994 with a BA in Fashion Design and Printed Textiles.

His first job after graduating was a freelance design project with Marni. He was then employed by the British fashion company Monsoon & Accessorise, where Matthew also worked on developing fabric swatches of his own designs, containing detailed beading and embroidery.

Matthew Williamson Company was founded in February 1997.

In the summer of 1997, a cold call to British Vogue led to a meeting with Plum Sykes, who was fashion assistant at the magazine. Encouraged by her reaction to his ideas, Matthew created a small women’s wear collection which resulted in his debut fashion show “Electric Angels” in September 1997, which comprised 11 outfits.

Matthew Williamson won Elle Designer of the Year 2004, the 2005 Moët & Chandon fashion tribute and has received numerous nominations. He has also been nominated three times as Designer of the Year at the British fashion awards.

Whilst continuing at the design helm of his namesake company, in 2005 Matthew took over as the Creative Director at the luxury Italian fashion house Emilio Pucci. Having admired Pucci’s work from the 60’s and 70’s, this was a dream come true for Matthew. To celebrate 10 years in fashion, Matthew Williamson recently launched an exhibition focusing on the design and process of his work at the Design Museum, London.