Matthew Williamson Extends Global Footprint Through Brand Licensing
October 11, 2012, London, U.K., – Leading brand licensing agency, Beanstalk, today announced a number of licensing agreements secured for its client Matthew Williamson, the celebrated British fashion designer, to extend his brand into additional fashion and lifestyle categories including footwear, handbags and interiors. Leading British fashion accessories company, TLG Brands, will work with Matthew Williamson to design, manufacture and distribute a full lifestyle offering of women’s handbags, debuting at premium retail in AW2013. An iconic lifestyle collection, the range will include casual, career, and evening designs for the sophisticated, fashion-forward consumer.
Matthew Williamson is also working with premium footwear manufacturer, GMI Corp USA, to develop a range of women’s footwear under the Matthew Williamson brand. The initial footwear collection was recently previewed at the official Matthew Williamson catwalk show during London Fashion Week and will launch at retail SS2013 in department stores, select boutiques and Matthew Williamson stand-alone stores.
Osborne & Little, one of the world’s leading names in fabric and wallpaper design, have been secured to develop an exclusive range of furnishing fabrics and wallpapers in collaboration with Matthew Williamson. The first Matthew Williamson at Osborne & Little collection is scheduled to launch at retail in AW2013.
Each of these fashion and lifestyle categories will encompass Matthew Williamson’s unique visual identity and highly recognisable signature aesthetic, which is characterised by his use of vibrant colours, prints and embellishments.
Matthew Williamson shared, “We’re a brand that’s now got a rich DNA. There’s a history, there’s an archive and there’s a real sense — both from a creative point of view and a business perspective — that the categories feel right,” said Williamson. “The designs will have all the same sort of elements that I have in my ready-to-wear, but my key objective is to add new layers, freshness and keep things up to date and moving forward.”
Joseph Velosa, CEO of Matthew Williamson, added, “We have naturally evolved into a lifestyle brand over the years and the time feels right to add relevant strands to our fashion core. We have three stand-alone stores and two franchise partners, and they particularly wanted accessories to be part of the mix, so we have a full offering”
Ciarán Coyle, Beanstalk’s Managing Director, International, said, “We are thrilled to announce GMI Corp, TLG Brands and Osborne & Little as licensees of Matthew Williamson. We have had enormous interest in his brand since we were appointed as his licensing agent earlier this year, which is testament not only to Matthew Williamson’s unique design DNA and colour expertise, but also his ability to transcend geographies and strike an emotional chord with fashion consumers across the globe.”
About Matthew Williamson Matthew Williamson, a British fashion and lifestyle company, was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in London. The company has three freestanding stores in London, New York and Dubai and wholesales to over 170 prestigious stockists globally. The company produces four womenswear collections annually and shows during London fashion week. The company has also collaborated with several international corporations such as H&M and Macy’s on co-branded limited edition products as well as having a longstanding partnership with Debenhams as part of their ‘Designers at Debenhams’ portfolio. Matthew has won several industry awards including a British fashion award, Elle designer of the year award and the Moet & Chandon creator award. His clothes are regularly worn on the red carpet and his shows are frequently attended by celebrities such as Sienna Miller, Alexa Chung and Poppy Delevingne. A self-titled book was published in 2010 by Rizzoli with a précis contribution by Anna Wintour and was written by Colin McDowell.
About Beanstalk Beanstalk, a global brand licensing agency and consultancy, extends brands through the strategic and creative development of licensed products. The company works with corporate brands, celebrities, entertainment properties, and other high-profile clients to leverage licensing as a strategic tool to enhance brand awareness, increase consumer touch-points, and generate revenue. Beanstalk also offers a breadth of additional licensing services including direct-to-retail program management, license acquisition for manufacturers and TransAct™ licensing program administration. The company is headquartered in New York, with offices in London, Los Angeles, Miami, and Hong Kong, and affiliates throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.beanstalk.com. Beanstalk is a part of Diversified Agency Services, a division of Omnicom Group Inc.
About Diversified Agency Services Diversified Agency Services (DAS), a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), manages Omnicom's holdings in a variety of marketing communications disciplines. DAS includes over 200 companies, which operate through a combination of networks and regional organizations, serving international and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries.
About Omnicom Group Inc. Omnicom Group Inc. (www.omnicomgroup.com) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.