Fashion designer makes global bid

London-based fashion designer Matthew Williamson is to roll out shops around the world in a bid to establish his name as a global brand.

Williamson is also looking to expand into other areas, such as menswear and lifestyle accessories, to complement his womenswear range. These are expected to appear over the next year.

Williamson has appointed Saatchi & Saatchi to help build his name into a global brand.

Williamson says: “I want to turn it into a global brand. I want it to be a name that you would say in the same breath that you would say any other international household designer name.”

Saatchi has so far produced a promotional video called Candygirls which features the designer’s 2001 spring and summer collection.

Copies of the video will be distributed to stores that stock the Matthew Williamson collection, celebrities, fashion editors and potential investors and sponsors with the aim of raising the designer’s profile.

The designer is currently talking to investors about funding a US press advertising campaign which will run in glossies like American Vogue. A full page ad in the magazine can cost up to $50,000.

“In London we don’t need to advertise the brand, but in the US it is all part of the plan to really push the identity,” he says.

The designer works with companies such as Marks & Spencer, Motorola and Procter & Gamble as a consultant.