Manchester-born designer Matthew Williamson has expressed immense pride in crafting the trophy for the 2026 Brit Awards, an event set to make history by being held in his home city.
Williamson’s design draws deeply from Manchester’s heritage, featuring an amber figure atop a globe, a nod to the city’s iconic worker bee mascot and symbolising the global reach of British music.
Speaking to the PA news agency about the honour, which will see his creation presented at the Co-Op Live venue on February 28, Williamson shared his profound connection to the project.
"It means a huge amount, personally, it means a lot, professionally, it means a lot," he stated. "I think overall, I’m just really honoured to be in this position, I feel it’s quite a weighty project, and I’m fully aware of the designers that have gone before me, these icons of design, so I’m carrying quite a sort of heavy torch, so to speak, but very proud."
The fashion, home, and lifestyle designer emphasised the personal significance of the location. "Personally, I’m from Manchester, I love everything about the city, so it has an extra resonance, because it’s going to be here, it’s a real milestone moment."
Williamson, 54, recalled watching the awards ceremony with his family during his childhood. "I remember watching it and feeling that I probably shouldn’t be watching it, so I was pretty young," he reminisced.
"I remember it being a little bit spicy at times, and my parents were quite liberal parents, but it was a little past the watershed and all of that, so I don’t know, (I was watching it) early probably (as a) teenager, slightly earlier."
He added: "That was many moons ago, but I still watch it now, and I’m going to be watching it with my daughter next year, so it feels like a full circle moment in so many ways."
Known for his distinctive runway designs, one of which featured in Prince’s 2007 music video for ‘Chelsea Rodgers’, Williamson was careful to respect the established aesthetic of the Brit Award.
"There was a certain understanding that this is the trophy, we want to keep the silhouette, the structure, so they don’t want us to turn it into a different form, because then it wouldn’t be a Brit Award," he explained.
"I think that was central to the project, respect what’s there, and be like the Oscars, you kind of want to see that mask, you don’t really want to see something else."
The 2026 Brit Awards ceremony marks a significant moment as it will be the first time the event has been held outside of London. Previous designers of the coveted trophy include celebrated figures such as Dame Vivienne Westwood, Sir Peter Blake, and Dame Tracey Emin.
