Alt-girls rejoice: Ashley Williams is back on the London Fashion Week schedule, baby! In news announced this morning, the esoteric designer is the latest recipient of Fashion East’s XLNC programme, which aims to support former family members in taking their label to the next level. Founded by Lulu Kennedy and Raphaelle Moore in 2022 in conjunction with UGG, the first to receive funding – in the form of grants and investment in production – was KNWLS.
Like plenty of other young designers like her, Williams had been struggling with the costs of keeping the label afloat in the lead-up to the pandemic, with her last show taking place in February 2020. Soon after, in the middle of lockdown, she put a pin in production. Known for her tongue-in-cheek, bratty designs – including mohair cardigans dotted with pentagons, pithy slogan tees, kitschy airbrushed graphics, and signature crystal-studded ‘Bitch’ and ‘Anxiety’ earrings – after launching in 2013, she quickly became a cool-girl fave and helped usher in the hysteria for Y2K aesthetics that still holds Gen Z in a chokehold. Essentially, Williams was doing Heaven before Heaven was.
With a £20,000 grant now lodged firmly in her bank account, plus ‘undisclosed investment’ from UGG to play with, Williams’ big return will play out during the upcoming SS24 shows in September. What can we expect from Ashley Williams 2.0? There’s not much to go on yet, but in a conversation with Vogue Business, the designer revealed her tastes have evolved and, now everyone is doing what she did originally, she’s keen to take it in a new direction – though its essence will remain the same. One thing is for sure, though: expect to see a bunch of Williams-ified UGGs on the runway come the new-season shows.