Oakley has recruited Matthew M. Williams as creative director of apparel, footwear and accessories, a new post that signals the American brand’s ambitions to grow those categories to rival, or even eclipse, its core eyewear business.

Disclosing the appointment exclusively to WWD, Caio Amato, global president of Oakley, lauded Williams as the ideal candidate to lead the charge, describing him as a well-rounded fashion professional as adept at production planning as “turning feelings into products.

“Matthew brings in his belt a lot of knowledge, not only in design: He understands about the business landscape. He understands about the cultural nuances between different countries all over the world,” Amato said. “He can talk with the same energy and passion about design as he can talk about distribution, customers and as well as operations and sourcing.

“Matthew is incredibly good at seeing the 360 – and that’s what Oakley needed,” he added.

For Williams, who earned global fashion acclaim for his industrial-tinged 1019 Alyx 9SM brand and his three-year stint as creative director of Givenchy in Paris, the new creative challenge syncs up with his keen interest in performance-driven sports and lifestyle products – and returns him to his California roots.

“I’ve been a fan of Oakley’s since I was a kid,” he said in an exclusive interview, dialing in from his car while en route to Oakley’s headquarters. “Growing up, I played soccer in Irvine where Oakley is based. It was part of my world.”

The appointment also cements a professional collaboration with his longtime friend Travis Scott, who was named chief visionary officer of Oakley last year. The rapper is readying his first product drop, expected in the coming weeks.

“Travis is here working on his new album. We’ve been spending a lot of time together,” he related.

Williams, who relocated from Paris to St. Moritz, Switzerland, about two years ago and took up skiing with zeal, said he would spend considerable time in Milan, where Oakley’s apparel, footwear and accessories activities are based, while also visiting important markets for all those categories, headlined by Brazil and Japan.

“It’s really exciting,” said Williams, who met with Francesco Milleri, chairman and chief executive officer of EssilorLuxottica, Oakley’s parent, and was offered the job. “I said yes immediately because there’s just so much potential for the brand and a rich history that’s really authentic to my background.

“I really love outdoor and technical clothing. That’s all stuff that’s really in Oakley’s language – and sport, obviously. So it’s a really fun playground,” he added.

Amato characterized the appointment as a mold-breaking one for the company, founded by Jim Jannard in 1975.

“Eyewear has always been the foundation of Oakley, it’s where we started. Because of that, apparel, footwear and accessories haven’t always had the same level of focus historically,” he said. “Over time, we’ve continued to build and evolve it through our design teams and athlete-led R&D. Now, with Matthew, we’re pushing it further and giving it the attention and scale it deserves.”

The executive, who is also global president of Sports Hub at EssilorLuxottica, declined to specify how much of the business AFA represent, only saying that eyewear represents the majority of Oakley’s activity today.

As for Williams, his “design language is very distinct. His emphasis on form, materials and quality is unprecedented,” Amato said. “And he’s a dreamer. At Oakley, we cannot afford having a creative director that is not a dreamer about the future.”

Oakley has marketed apparel, footwear and accessories (AFA) for more than 35 years, but now its ambitions have taken a step change.

“We want the apparel, footwear and accessories category to be as big, or even bigger, than eyewear,” Amato said. “Moving forward, instead of being a way to express the brand DNA, we want (AFA) to be one of the carriers of the brand as eyewear is.”

Amato and Williams enthused about Oakley’s unmissable presence at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, with parent EssilorLuxottica as an official supporter.

Asked when consumers might see the first designs by Williams, Amato said there could be some initial product drops in six months, with the full impact of his vision felt in 12-18 months time.

The executive said the designer, who grew up doing board sports, has a “very strong foundation” in its key sport categories: bike, golf and snow.

Meanwhile, “lifestyle has been a dormant part of our collection, so for sure, he’s going to bring a lot of heat to the lifestyle pieces… I think Matthew is going to have more fun because it’s a white canvas, and we have a lot of historical pieces that he can take inspiration from and bring them to the future.”

Williams’ excitement was palpable over a 30-minute conversation.

“I feel reinvigorated, rejuvenated at a time where people are complaining about our industry being really flat,” he said. “I’m feeling re-inspired, and really excited about what I’m making.”

The designer has kept a relatively low profile since winding up his three-year tenure at Givenchy in late 2023, and selling a majority stake in 1017 Alyx 9SM to Hong Kong entrepreneur Adrian Cheng. The brand last presented a collection to the press in June 2024, and its website is currently closed.

Last June, Williams quietly debuted a new namesake, independent clothing project reflecting his exacting, product-based approach, and a focus on craft, realizing his casual wear staples with favorite suppliers including a denim mill in Japan, an American jersey specialist, and a Spanish maker of handmade shoes.

In the interview, he said he would continue that petite, self-financed venture alongside his new duties at Oakley. His Matthew M. Williams line is carried by about 25 specialty stores, about half of them in Japan in addition to marquee retailers like Maxfield in Los Angeles and Dover Street Market Paris.

Born in Chicago and raised amid the vibrant skate culture in Pismo Beach, Calif., Williams is a self-taught designer. He started his career in fashion production, making a name for himself working as creative director for Lady Gaga.

He founded his 1017 Alyx 9SM brand in 2015, and was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers the following year. Over his eventful career, he has also collaborated with an array of blue-chip brands, including Nike, Moncler and Dior.

A driven, versatile fashion talent with a sharp vision, strong cultural and artistic connections, and formidable technical chops, he designs according to garment archetypes with an intense focus on fabrication and finishing, prizing “soul” in clothing and accessories.

Williams has already started work at Oakley, familiarizing himself with its various sport verticals, its innovations in performance eyewear, and existing icons in bags, which include the Icon and Kitchen Sink backpacks, the latter of which incorporates hardware, which lines up with his designs under 1017 Alxy 9SM, famed for its rollercoaster buckle.

“They slso have an amazing footwear line that can really be grown and expanded,” Williams enthused. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity in all of those spaces.”

Williams arrival at Oakley dovetails with a trend to marquee talents finding high-visibility opportunities outside Europe’s heritage fashion brands, with many gravitating to high-street chains or Chense brands..

As an eyewear brand, Oakley seems to be breaking new ground in assigning a buzzy designer to build out ancillary categories.