Live streamed on crash.fr, Matthew M Williams presented his 1017 ALYX 9SM Fall/ Winter 22 collection: ‘Fade’ in Milan, Friday 14 th January 2022.

To describe ALYX as futuristic might sound incredibly archetypical of the 90s and early naughties era, conjuring up images of designers predicting we would be walking (sorry, ‘hover boarding’) around everywhere in silver and metallic cat suits, in a back-to-the-future kind of eccentricity, predictions that were, in hindsight, blissfully ignorant to the sheer scale of the technological revolution we were headed for. But well, that’s another matter entirely.

Forgetting all the nonsense behind it however, there is really something so perfect about the word ‘futuristic’ to describe the collections of cult-favorite designer, Matthew M Williams, and his label, 1017 ALYX 9SM. It is his own unique brand of ‘technological-savoir-faire’ that he is so heralded for, and that makes his collections stand out among the crop. So unbelievably modern, but so steeped in process, and craft, and know-how, that it is unsurprising the label has garnered such popularity amongst fashion circles and street wear veterans alike in its’ relatively short life span, (it was founded in 2015).

The highly anticipated return to the runway then on Friday, after a two-year hiatus from physical shows, did not disappoint. It conceived an ingenious mix of silhouettes, fabrics, shapes, textures and colors, that so inherently form part of its’ DNA now. The dialogue between the natural and technical continued in the form of unexpected natural and synthetic material combinations such as leather, shearling and nylon, boucle and PVC, textured outerwear wools with nylon and densely knitted jerseys. Knitwear in the form of both heavily textured exaggerated waffle knit with nylon linings that became outerwear and finer mohair knits combined with complex multi stitch sleeves in cotton nylon yarns and black shine PU zip necks.

There was a significant focus this year on shearling, in an extensive range of silhouettes and colors, including over sized unisex jackets that featured reversed 3D construction detailing. Select pieces are reversible, having been meticulously constructed by the heavily skilled team, in order to lend a sense of freedom and individuality to pieces, allowing the wearer to dictate their own personal styling.

A show highlight was the evolution of the now iconic ‘MONO’ shoe, developing into new single polymer injected boot with an elevated insole for extra comfort and an ergonomically designer upper, creating a new exaggerated silhouette that formed the base of the Men’s show looks for Fall 22. Not forgetting the tactical cargo pant styles, which came in a pleasingly wider than usual leg silhouette, presented subtly alongside contrasting slim fit elasticated pants, that cleverly incorporate an integral stretch legging.

Women’s dresses were also featured, dresses which had been cut open and reversed, with raw seams constructed in transparent lightweight pleated organza and nylon with contrast leather straps and bonded leather hems and metal hardware closures. The closing dress featured a degrade embroidery of chain stitched matte paillettes curled and knotted with sporadic dropped crystals, for that futuristic, but never gimmicky, ALYX twist.

Discover all the looks from the collection below, and more at alyxstudio.com