William Abney

William Abney is an independent fashion designer who recently graduated from Central Saint Martins in July 2025 with a BA in Menswear Design. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Abney left behind a corporate career in America and relocated to London in 2021 to pursue his vision in fashion. William's designs draw from classic menswear silhouettes, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens that emphasizes versatility, functionality, and individuality. He also experiments with texture, draping, and unconventional construction methods that challenge traditional notions of masculinity in fashion.

The work Abney is presenting September 2025 is a continuation of his graduate collection, titled It's August 9th and My Heart Has Been Broken for Years, an introspective elegy to a breakup that is grounded in and mirrored through the unfortunate events surrounding the resignation of the 37th U.S. president, Richard Nixon.

Through his research, William focused on the president as a complex individual, as the psychology behind this story is what makes it fascinating. Nixon was an introvert who was desperate to be liked, but he was also a liar. Mr. Nixon was known to always wear a simple, single-breasted grey suit, and he had no fashion sense at all. However, under his normal and rather boring appearance, there was chaos and panic arising. Just as he lied, this collection mimics him by using illusions in the pattern making.

Abney’s design work is strategically intertwined with his own writings, as he is pursuing a path as both a novelist and designer. His brand can be described as modest, Americana-inspired menswear, layered with profane undertones and articulated through a dystopian language that exists in a timeframe you can't quite place. The CSM graduate's perplexing world reveals his ability to evoke a wide range of emotion in a matter of moments, with those fleeting feelings captured and translated into garments and words.