Matthew Rowean | |
---|---|
Born | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | August 6, 1982
Nationality | American |
Education | Syracuse University |
Occupation(s) | Partner, chief creative officer at matte projects |
Years active | 2005–present |
Known for | artist, creative director, entrepreneur |
Website | matthew-rowean |
Matthew Rowean (born August 6, 1982, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American artist, creative director, and entrepreneur. He is a Partner and Chief Creative Officer at MATTE Projects. [1] [2] [3] [4] In 2019, Rowean was among Emmy Nominees for Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened. [5] [2] [6]
Rowean graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Painting and Communication Design. In 2005, Rowean joined Strategic Group as Creative director. In 2008, he left Strategic Group and co-founded RJW (later rebranded as JWALK) alongside Doug Jacob and Charli Walk. The company worked with brands such as Lacoste, David Yurman, Equinox, and ABC. He oversaw the brand identity development of the seafood restaurant Catch, which expanded from a flagship in New York City to an international company with locations in L.A., Dubai, and Playa del Carmen. [7] [8]
In 2019, Rowean was among Emmy Nominees for Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened. [5] [2] [6]
During his tenure as Chief Creative Officer, MATTE won several Clio Awards for their campaign work with Cartier. [2]
Matthew Rowean joined MATTE Projects in 2012 and helped evolve it into a creative agency and production company known for organizing high-profile events like New York City's Full Moon Music Festival and Rihanna's Met Gala after-party. The company operates in cities like New York and Mexico City, and has worked with clients such as Tom Ford, Google, and Dom Pérignon. Besides events, MATTE Projects offers content creation, digital solutions, and experiential design, working with brands such as KITH, Adidas, Amazon, Cartier, and YSL and talent such as Kanye West, James Blake and Jay-Z. [1] [9] [10]
In the live music sector, MATTE Projects has been involved in a variety of projects, ranging from their own live coverage of concerts to filming The Weeknd The Madness Tour. MATTE Projects was Samsung's live content partner across music for 2 years. [5] In 2020 MATTE Projects began working directly with Kanye West across a multitude of creative projects, during this period MATTE supported aspects of the DONDA album launch, culminating with shooting the first concert to be live streamed in IMAX theaters, "Free Larry Hoover," featuring Ye and Drake. [11]
MATTE Projects operates in the fashion industry, specializing in fashion events, live fashion show capture, campaigns, and directing fashion films for brands such as Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Alexander Wang, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Puma and other brands. [12] [13]
In 2012, MATTE launched Full Moon, a boutique music festival at the South Street Seaport. Full Moon later moved to Governors Island and became a 10,000-person festival. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] In 2013, MATTE introduced "Black," a visual art and sound experience. [20] [21]
In November 2023, the company launched HERO – a new venue dedicated to visual and sonic storytelling at Rockefeller Center, in partnership with Colleveite and BOSE Audio. Within these walls there lives an immersive experience featuring the work of a dozen artists and designers who combine immersive video, spatial audio, and scenic design. [22]
Roweans' collaborations withtin MATTE include The Macallan, KITH, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, Prada, Marriott, Apple, Airbnb, and more. [5] [10] [23] Their work for Cartier was recognized by Clio Awards. [23] In 2020, MATTE was hired by Roc Nation to launch Jay-Z's cannabis brand, Monogram. [24] In 2024 MATTE partnered with PUMA [25]
The company produced Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Bad Boy Story. The film won the Hollywood Documentary Award at the 2017 Hollywood Film Awards. [26] In 2019, company co-produced the Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened and initiated "La Luna," an eco-friendly summer party. [5] [27] Through the pandemic, they created the documentary "Hell Of A Cruise", available Peacock, featuring the early spread of COVID-19 on cruise ships. [28] [29]
Hip-hop fashion refers to the various styles of dress that originated from Urban Black America and inner city youth in cities like New York City, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Being a major part of hip hop culture, it further developed in other cities across the United States, with each contributing different elements to the overall style that is now recognized worldwide.
Puma SE is a German multinational corporation who design and manufacture athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories, headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. Puma is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the world. The company was founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler (1898–1974). In 1924, Rudolf and his brother Adolf "Adi" Dassler had jointly formed the company Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik. The relationship between the two brothers deteriorated until they agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma. Following the split, Rudolf originally registered the newly established company as Ruda, but later changed the name to Puma. Puma's earliest logo consisted of a square and beast jumping through a D, which was registered, along with the company's name, in 1948. Puma's shoe and clothing designs feature the Puma logo and the distinctive "Formstrip" which was introduced in 1958.
Diesel S.p.A. is an Italian retail clothing company, located in Breganze, Italy. It sells denim and other clothing, footwear, and accessories. The clothing line has two different brands: Diesel and Diesel Black Gold. There is also a line for children, called Diesel Kid. The company is known for its surreal advertising campaigns.
Ksubi is an Australian fashion label founded in 1999 on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Known for signature denim and box-cross logo, the brand has built an international presence and can be found in premium stores across Australia, North America and Europe.
Chris Smith is an American filmmaker. He directed American Movie, which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.
Kendall Nicole Jenner is an American model, media personality, and socialite. She rose to fame in the reality television show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, in which she starred for 20 seasons and nearly 15 years from 2007 to 2021. The success of the show led to the creation of multiple spin-off series including Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami (2009), Kourtney and Kim Take New York (2011), Khloé & Lamar (2011), Rob & Chyna (2016) and Life of Kylie (2017). Following the decision to end their reality show, in 2022 she and her family starred in the reality television series The Kardashians on Hulu.
Nowness is a digital video channel that was launched in 2010 by its founder Jefferson Hack as a brand of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. In May 2017, Modern Dazed, a new joint venture between Chinese publisher Modern Media and the UK's Dazed Media, acquired a majority stake in Nowness.
Ronnie Fieg is an American footwear and clothing designer, entrepreneur and the owner-operator of American retail fashion establishment and brand Kith.
NKPR is a Toronto, Canada-based public relations, artist management, and digital media agency with locations in Toronto and New York. NKPR was Founded in 2002 by Natasha Koifman.
Maison Margiela, formerly Maison Martin Margiela, is a French luxury fashion house founded by Belgian designer Martin Margiela and Jenny Meirens in 1988 and headquartered in Paris. The house produces both haute couture-inspired artisanal collections and ready-to-wear collections, with the former influencing the designs of the latter. Product lines include womenswear, menswear, jewellery, footwear, accessories, leather goods, perfumes and household goods. Known for deconstructive and avant-garde designs with unconventional materials, Maison Margiela has traditionally held live shows in unusual settings, for example empty metro stations and street corners. Models' faces are often obscured by fabric or long hair to direct attention to the clothes and design. Margiela resigned as creative designer in 2009 and John Galliano was appointed to the role in 2014.
Draper James is a clothing line launched by actress Reese Witherspoon, founded in 2015. A nod to Witherspoon’s Southern upbringing, the line aims to "emphasize [Witherspoon's] southern roots and personal style". The name is in honor of Witherspoon’s grandparents, Dorothea Draper and William James Witherspoon.
Virgil Abloh was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. A trained architect, Abloh founded his own line of luxury streetwear clothing under the moniker Pyrex Vision in 2012, which he transformed into the Milan based fashion label Off-White in 2013. Abloh was appointed artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection beginning in 2018, and was given increased creative responsibilities across the LVMH brand in early 2021. Abloh worked in Chicago street fashion, before he entered the world of international fashion with an internship at Fendi in 2009, alongside American rapper Kanye West. Abloh assumed the role of creative director at Donda, West's creative agency in 2010.
Mazdack Rassi is an Iranian-American real estate and creative entrepreneur. He is best known as the co-founder of Milk Studios with partners Erez Shternlicht and Moishe Mana, as a co-founder of Milk Makeup and Camp David in Brooklyn, New York.
Fyre Festival is a luxury music festival organized by Billy McFarland, an American businessman whose enterprises have been characterized by fraud, and the American rapper Ja Rule. It was originally created with the intent of promoting the company's Fyre app for booking music talent. The festival was scheduled to take place on April 28–30 and May 5–7, 2017, on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma. A rebooted Fyre Festival 2 is scheduled for April 25 to 28, 2025 with the main stage on one of the islands near Quintana Roo, with a 2nd VIP stage located 150 miles south on the Island of Utila, with plans to fly VIP guests between both stages via helicopter and private planes.
Aimé Leon Dore is a fashion and lifestyle brand founded in March 2014 by Teddy Santis. Based in Queens, New York, the brand's flagship store is located on Mulberry Street in Nolita, Manhattan.
Galia Lahav is a fashion label established in 1984 in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was founded by fashion designer Galia Lahav. The brand is primarily known for its bridal and evening wear. In January 2017, it became the first Israeli brand to be accepted by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture and to present in Paris Fashion Week. As of 2019, the brand is represented by 70 stores across 40 countries. Singer Beyoncé wore a Galia Lahav bridal gown to renew her vows.
Fyre is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Chris Smith. It chronicles the planning, failure, and aftermath of the 2017 Fyre Festival, putting the blame primarily on the event's organizer, businessman Billy McFarland. The film premiered on Netflix on January 18, 2019, and the site later reported that 20 million households streamed Fyre during its first month of release.
Fyre Fraud is a 2019 American documentary film about the fraudulent Fyre Festival, a 2017 music festival in the Bahamas. It was directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst, and premiered on January 14, 2019, on Hulu.
Kerwin Frost is an American entertainer, DJ, talk show host, and comedian. He first rose to prominence in New York City's Soho Youth streetwear scene.
Brett Kinckaid is an American film producer, co-founder of MATTE Projects, a New York City-based creative and producing agency. He has produced films such as Fyre, Can't Stop Won't Stop, Hell of a Cruise, and more, which have been acquired by the streaming platforms like Apple TV+, Netflix, Peacock, and ESPN.