Who Is Matty Boy at Chrome Hearts?

For the last five years, the most sought after Chrome Hearts pieces on the market have looked different than those of years past. They aren't gothic, composed of the same black lambskin leather and 0.925 silver that the brand has built its unparalleled legacy on since 1988. Today, the fan-favorite Chrome Hearts products are vibrant in color, boast DIY-styled illustrations, often feature the mysterious phrase "Sex Records", and display one name in all of their hang tags: Matty Boy.

Who is Matty Boy? In short, "Matty Boy" is designer and artist Matt DiGiacomo - the current Creative Director of American luxury icon Chrome Hearts. He is known for his wild, tongue-in-cheek illustrations that's style falls somewhere in between a Circle Jerks album cover and the graffiti that wraps the bathroom stall in your favorite hometown dive bar.

Matty Boy is unapologetically himself in the products he makes, but beyond that, he remains an enigma. There is not much public information on Matty Boy, but from what's available on the internet, here is what we found.

Rise of Matt DiGiacomo

Matt DiGiacomo (aka Matty Boy) started working for a concept store in Malibu called Salvation, where they had a big Brother printer that DiGiacomo could use to print punk graphics on tees, shoes, and jackets - that they would then give away because nobody wanted to buy them.

In an interview with L'Officiel, DiGiacomo reminisced on how he started working for Richard and Laurie Lynn Stark, stating that "Laurie Lynn —whom I knew because I grew up with her daughter—came in (to the shop) one day and was like, 'What are you doing? Come work for me.' So I started working for them, mostly assistant work under a designer, until one day I just grabbed a jacket and cut it up and sewed on patches with my own art, and showed it to Laurie and her husband and co-owner, Richard. They were like, 'Damn, this is cool. We’ll put it in Paris'".

The jacket Matty Boy made sold out, then he made another one, and that sold out too. Soon enough, his designs became instant hits throughout Chrome Hearts stores and organically, he began to expand his range as a designer.

Matty Boy Motifs & Themes

Matty Boy is known for re-using his characters and illustrations throughout his outlandish designs. Some of the characters that are consistently revisited are his Checker Ball, Checker Eyes, and Smiling Lips. These characters can appear together within designs, separately, and even take the shapes of other objects. Once commonly used phrase that is featured in Matty Boy graphics are "Sex Records" which is Matty Boy's fictional record label.

Matty Boy Style Inspiration

Many of the pieces that Matty Boy adds his flair to are inspired by classic workwear garments. Work jackets, carpenter pants, hoodies, beanies, painter denim, and even Timberland work boots have all featured the designer's distinct motifs. The crossover from workwear to luxury comes from the choice of materials Matty Boy relies on, whether it be braided leather shoe laces, leather patches, silver hardware, or even cowhide embellishments.

You can buy Matty Boy x Chrome Hearts t-shirts, hoodies, and more now on TOP DRWR. Click here to shop.