1017 ALYX 9SM

1017 ALYX 9SM named itself after a number, a word, and a street address because clarity was never the point. Founded in 2015, the brand builds clothes and accessories around industrial hardware — the rollercoaster buckle, sourced from amusement park safety harnesses, is the signature element. The aesthetic sits where techwear meets fashion meets engineering, and the result looks like nothing else on any rack.

Aesthetic & Identity

1017 ALYX 9SM — the name alone filters out anyone who isn't paying close attention. The brand's visual anchor is the rollercoaster buckle, a functional hardware piece inspired by Six Flags ride safety harnesses that appears on chest rigs, belts, bags, and necklaces. The aesthetic sits at the intersection of industrial design and fashion — techwear fabrics, tactical silhouettes, and a monochrome palette dominated by black, with occasional hits of safety orange or neon green. The production is Italian, the references are American (specifically the skate, rave, and hardcore scenes of 1990s California), and the result is something that feels engineered rather than designed. Collaborations with Nike, Moncler, and Givenchy have extended the brand's vocabulary while maintaining the core industrial DNA.

History & Trajectory

Founded in 2015 in New York, later relocating operations to Italy. The brand grew out of a creative practice that spanned music, visual art, and fashion — earlier work included art direction for Kanye West and creative roles in the music industry. The rollercoaster buckle, introduced in early collections, became an instant signature and one of the most copied hardware elements in contemporary fashion. The Nike collaboration produced the MMW (Matthew M. Williams) line of functional footwear and apparel. The appointment as creative director of Givenchy in 2020 raised the brand's profile significantly, though the Givenchy tenure ended in 2024. The standalone brand continues to show at Paris Fashion Week and operates through select high-end retailers globally.

Cultural Footprint

ALYX represents the design-school-to-fashion pipeline at its most refined — someone who thinks about buckles like an industrial designer, fabrics like an engineer, and silhouettes like someone who grew up at hardcore shows. The rollercoaster buckle has been adopted across the industry — you see its influence in every chest rig and functional buckle accessory that's appeared since. The brand's audience is narrow but dedicated: architects, designers, people in tech who wear all-black, and the subset of fashion consumers who care about construction methodology as much as aesthetics. The Nike collaborations brought functional footwear innovation to a wider audience.

What to Know

T-shirts $250-$400, outerwear $800-$2,500, the rollercoaster buckle belt $350-$500, bags $600-$1,200. Available at 1017alyx9sm.com, SSENSE, Farfetch, Dover Street Market, and select boutiques. Key pieces: the rollercoaster buckle belt, the chest rig, Nike collaboration footwear, and the tactical puffer jackets. Sizing runs true to Italian. The resale market is niche but active — early-era rollercoaster buckle pieces and Nike collaborations trade at premiums on Grailed. The brand name is pronounced "ah-LEEKS."