The Creative’s Inner World and Outer Expression: Matthew Williamson - Friends of Friends / Freunde von Freunden (FvF)

suppose it has invariably shifted – from the obvious high life of London where I felt I was part of the brand, representing a certain look, to a softer look, a more rustic approach here on Mallorca. It’s interesting that if you’re a male designer designing womenswear, you can’t really pull off the look. I never had that direct opportunity to do that, but still tried to represent that synthesis somehow. My looks were definitely a bit more polished back then. Now they’re more casual. I live in the mountains, so that defines what I wear a lot. You can’t dress up a lot over here on Mallorca. Day to day it’s a bit more down to earth, a bit more rough & ready, but I still like dressing up, still like presenting – that’s still important to me. It has an effect on people if you present in a certain way, give attention to how you look. It can be a valuable tool. I learned that from my mum – she always demonstrated that passion.

No, I definitely can’t. But I’ve never found that to be overwhelming or problematic in any way. It’s in my blood, in my DNA. It’s quite a managed process in my head. I like that. 

I would always be looking at the sunlight on the mountains thinking that this peach would be lovely with that green. I often see things that others don’t. My eyes are just drawn to rather random stuff. Like in a market stall – my eyes would go to a box on the floor that nobody else would see. Only when I sleep my mind shuts down.

I wish I could say yes, but the answer is definitely no. If friends come over, I never do it ad hoc. That feels too haphazard. I am very organised, maybe unusual in the sense that even though I am a creative, I need timelines, clarity, goals. I’ve got a weird dual personality here. That probably comes from my parents’ work ethic, which was instilled in me from youth. I always want to make sure I have the right drinks, set the table properly, always aiming to elevate the experience. I want to make everything look its best.

The brand and the person are very hard to separate. Matthew the designer IS Matthew the person.  My partner Joseph is the opposite. He’s a life and business coach, and he wouldn’t really bring that to the friendship group. He’s got that skillset. I always talk about creativity and the things that I’m into right now. It’s quite nice that we have very different personalities in that way.

We started it a few years ago – at the beginning we were just 6 people. It’s very much about nobody looking over your shoulder. It wasn’t a competition. That for me was a good exercise – as there wasn’t an end goal as such. Two hours to paint, then a little review, but it’s not going to be online, it’s not going to be sold. Very different from my usual life, such a good experience, particularly for me.

Then the word got out and it got much bigger – a lot more people came to join. So I took a pause and started the store, which is opening very, very soon. Now, after the store opening, I hope we can tighten it back up again, as the smallness really was perfect for me. 

And does it inspire my work? It’s always tricky to see what exactly inspired what. It’s always very fluid and flexible. 

(smiles) I’ve trained her very well. When she was born, 10 years ago, she came into our lives, and in the first two or three years, it really messed with my brain. I thought I could never have the way I liked to live prior to Skye back. I went through a bit of a grieving process. From those years I learned to let go, to surrender. But then, when she turned 5, I started to influence her with how I get through my day. And she really has picked up on that. She’s incredibly organised, tidy, and weirdly well behaved. She will certainly rebel at some point. But for now I’m very happy.

When my friend Sienna Miller had Marlowe she said “the first five years are intense, but then it changes”. I thought “5 years! That’s forever”. But then when Skye turned five, it was like a light switch. Until that point you’re constantly on guard.

Trends always bothered me back in the day. I remember thinking how weird it was that there WERE trends. Without sounding very arrogant, I, myself, never wanted to wear a trend. I often went to Première Vision Paris Fabric Fair, and I always struggled with the “trends” there, the trends you see in the magazines like “Yellow is in”. Gucci and Prada made yellow dresses and all of a sudden it’s a trend. I have never been anyone who would want to create a “trend”. If it still becomes one, I’m happy, of course, but I never aim for it in the first place.

There are loads of things that I love in my house that are very practical but not very pretty. The best houses are made of the combination of practical and beautiful. There is a William Morris quote about that: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” The walls are strong, the roofs are solid, all that really dull backroom stuff makes lives a lot easier. But then if I can find something that is both practical and beautiful, that’s obviously great.

On our mantlepiece, there are plenty of objects that are pretty useless. They change weekly, it is some sort of shrine for our daughter. Last week she brought back a ceramic dragon – and the minute she brought it back we knew that was going straight onto the mantlepiece. It’s like a little family mood board. Anyone can put something on it. It doesn’t have to have any monetary value, can be a feather, a note, a stone….everyone should do that.

When I’m working, designing, I like to have music on. I like to create my own playlist. I’ve designed a playlist for my new shop Caserra 71 that will embody the vibe of the store. I’m not very good with artists, I never really get into one band, or one genre. I need to hear different styles – a bit like my work.. And that does my partner’s head in. His job is a desk job, and he plays the same again and again – he loves playing old Madonna tracks. He needs the same repeated tune every day. I would go mad.

When we’re spending time together, his playlist is definitely not allowed. We often just put music on shuffle.

It’s 60% music, 40% silence. We live quite high up, so you can’t hear a single thing. It’s completely quiet. The most peaceful spot I’ve ever lived in. It’s very remote, the last house on this mountain. Surrounded by forest – you can’t hear anything.

The light is spectacular here. You can’t help but be aware of it during the day. We look out of our windows to a massive mountain. It definitely turns peach around 6 pm, almost neon peach. 

My studio is painted white, there’s a 60ies white light on the ceiling. It’s rather stark. The rest of the home is definitely more mellow, there’s a lot more mood lighting. Actually mood lighting gone mad. In our lounge, we have seven lights at the moment. I decided to paint my bathroom almost like an electric blue, but it has saturated all the light out of the room. In a bathroom you need to see what you’re doing. I might have to repaint it.

I made a tea for the store that consists of mint, rosemary, some liquorice, some pomegranate – all the ingredients that are very typical Mallorcan. 

In general, I’m drawn to musk, oud, church incense – I like that strong, powerful, burning scent. So I’d probably bottle that one.

It’s so interesting, but immediately my brain is so connected to my work that I’m really struggling with that. For me, it would be impossible to meet anyone and not talk about work. Still, I’d probably go for a painter like Matisse, or Frida Kahlo.

I’d also love to talk to Allessandro Michel – I just really admire everything he’s done. I think he’s a genius. I suppose I could talk to him about inspiration in general, not just for his work. Trying to understand his universe. I find it fascinating what his references must be, how his brain must function.

I think it’s hard to come across the fact that I’m actually rather funny, that I’ve got a great sense of humor. You don’t often find that in an interview, in the way I present myself. 

People often say “wow, I didn’t know how funny you are”. It’s important for my family – also very influential for Skye. I thus try to bring a bit of comedy to the house as often as possible.