Matthew M. Williams became Givenchy’s creative director in 2020.
Givenchy announced Williams’s appointment in June 2020, and he succeeded Clare Waight Keller, whose tenure included Meghan Markle’s 2018 wedding dress. Williams became the house’s first American artistic director, bringing a background in streetwear, hardware-focused accessories, and the label 1017 ALYX 9SM to a historic French couture brand.
His appointment represented a notable shift in Givenchy’s direction. Rather than coming through a traditional couture apprenticeship, Williams emerged from contemporary fashion and creative collectives such as Been Trill. At Givenchy, he combined industrial details and utilitarian references with the house’s established emphasis on tailoring and eveningwear.
The year is sometimes confused with 2021 because Williams’s first Givenchy collections were presented during the 2021 fashion calendar. The appointment itself, however, was made in 2020.