#a cold wall

GRAILED: The History and Influence of Matthew Williams’ Alyx Studios

‘The only “streetwear” brand run by a true fashionphile, 1017 Alyx 9SM (or simply “Alyx”) actually sits at the intersection of luxury and contemporary fashion. Run by a former skater who holds Stussy and archive Raf Simons in equal regard, designer Matthew Williams Alyx spends as much time developing its futuristic tailoring as reworking vintage California skate shop graphics into its upcycled long sleeve T-shirts. Though defining streetwear is increasingly difficult, no modern brand is more adept at mixing downtown references with runway quality, a paradigm that many attempt but often fall short.’

HS: This Is How A-COLD-WALL* Works

‘We now sit in a space of modern luxury, so the expectation of our products and the price point often equates to what LVMH or Kering will be selling at. That means the product needs to be very well thought out and articulated to be understood.

I’ve been building up personas in-house in the past year. We now speak to three different personas. Those being the artisan, the conscious professional, and the modern luxury consumer. One is more centric to say a Veilance, Stone Island, CP Company or Nike ACG, while the artisan, for example, might be more extroverted in their opinion and choice of color and silhouette. All three, however, are completely relevant and it’s super important we’re able to serve all. So here’s this underpinning, and almost wired framework, for every product being allocated to a persona. And it needs to meet the immediate requirements of that persona. The silhouette, color, construction, hand touch, messaging, all need to ensure that there’s the underpinning values of A-COLD-WALL* in every product. Those being brutalism, architecture, industrial design and color sensitivity.‘