designers do diffusion

Matthew Williamson’s Diffusion Collection Will Be ‘At Least Half the Price’ of His Regular Line

Matthew Williamson gave a few more details about his forthcoming diffusion line, which will be called Muse by Matthew Williamson, at the Fashion Institute of Technology last Thursday, including a vague hint that it will be (hallelujah!) a lot cheaper than his regular collection. “I’m pretty certain it will be at least half the price of our main line,” he said. “It’s intended to be like the younger sister of the main line. I’m sick of everybody saying, ‘I love it, but I can’t afford it.’ So hopefully this will solve that problem.”

He didn’t divulge much about what the collection will look like, mainly because he hasn’t really decided yet. “We need to get cracking on it,” he said, as it will be shown in February for fall 2011. “I’ve only just started to design it. We’re at the really early stages, just conceptualizing and thinking about what kind of look it will be.” Of course, there will be some of the designer’s signature hot pink, which he has featured in every collection since his first show in 1997. “After [my first] show, a very important editor came backstage and said, ‘You should always do a pink dress.’ So it was one of those strange little pieces of advice that I always carried forward,” he said.

Williamson and his new licensing company, Mariella Burani Fashion Group, are also still figuring out where exactly the line will be distributed, but the designer hopes it will be carried in his own stores as well as by larger retailers that sell his main line. Will his new licensing deal (the company’s first) result in any other big changes to the label? “Not right now. It won’t change anything really big about the way we do business. I’m pretty hands-on, and it still really comes down to myself and Joseph [Velosa, his business partner] to make all the important decisions.”

Matthew Williamson’s Diffusion Collection Will Be ‘At Least Half the Price’ of His Regular Line