Billy reid where to buy

But if I could get the raw materials and I could ship them to the United States, then I've got a chance to make those, and cut and sew it in the United States.

And there's manufacturing jobs. In terms of different movements within menswear, is there something that's changed over the last decade or so, whether it's within the business or style, that stands out most to you?

The customer having a better idea of what they want. If I look back through the years, even going way back to when I started, I remember making flat-front pants. Now everyone that was working, business guys, they're wearing pleated pants. And I remember trying to get my buddies to wear flat front pants.

It was like changing a mind one at a time to get it. Now we're in a situation where we're all trying to get guys to wear pleated pants again.

There's that whole reeducation. But I think in general, the customer has a little bit better feeling for what they want, just because they see more, they're more in tune. Now, there's still guys who have no clue. But in general, that's been the biggest change: the information. Even guys who were enthusiastic about fashion loved to adhere to a guidebook, or a list of rules. They knew: you should get the double monk shoes, you get the jacket with the surgeon cuff, etc.

But as men in general have gotten more into style and fashion over the last 10 years, all of these things can co-exist at once. Yeah, that right there, I mean—double monk straps, oh my God. We couldn't stop making them. We could not stop making them. Everybody had to have a pair. And those sort of [dominant] trends, I just don't see them right now. I think there is definitely a more self-focused customer.

I don't think they're as much looking to be like, "I've got to have this because this guy has it. I love that you couldn't stop selling double monks, and that period was such a big moment for you and your brand too.

What happens after those years as people are moving on, chasing the streetwear thing? It would have been so easy to chase those trends, and many brands did do that. What decisions did you make, and why? You have things that have made you successful. And then there are those Man, it's athleisure.

It's street wear. It's outdoor-influenced things. You're getting this information from our staff in the shops, you're getting it from various customers. I wear them with everything and for every flight I get on. And, honestly, we did chase those. Because I did start to listen to all of the stuff. Now, we kept making those things that made us successful.

But you start to look to these new things and think that's the wave of the future. And you need to add that to your repertoire, so to speak. And even as a customer, if I'm buying a pair of Off-White sneakers because I want my son to think I'm cool, and I love the design, that's okay.

But that doesn't necessarily have to be what our collection is about. It doesn't mean you don't challenge the norm. It's all about how you interpret those trends. We don't need to go out and make a cotton-nylon stretch yoga pant.

Let's go out and make that in cashmere, and make it lux and make it relate to the collection better. That's where anyone can make mistakes. You start to think you can do anything, and you can, but you really need to focus.

Focus is a big, big word. It's lessons learned through the years. I wonder, what are the challenges? And I'm sure there are benefits that come with that as well. Up until two years ago, I averaged 25 flights a year to New York. So I was spending about half my work time in New York. Obviously we had the shop there. But then there's also events, and general fashion stuff—big-time fashion stuff.

There's a challenge with doing that. There's also that challenge of, through the years, if you need a line horn button, well I can't go to Hobby Lobby and find those down the street.

So you have to plan better. And through the years, I haven't been able to go to every single GQ and Vogue event through the years. I've missed some of that. On the flip side, from a personal standpoint, I've been able to raise my family exactly where I wanted to raise them, and do things I probably never would have had a chance to do if I were living in Manhattan or Brooklyn or Connecticut.

And also just being a part of this community here and what we've been able to contribute by being based here has been something It's probably one of the most gratifying things that we've been a part of. And seeing people from all over the country and all over the world come to work for us in a small town.

And they're young and they're creative and they're energetic, and people visit from all over. Then they mix with the locals. And that energy that comes from that really has changed the entire vibe of the community. I probably couldn't have done that in New York. We couldn't have had that effect on a community that way, and I think that's been the biggest part of it. You mention the fashion events. Do they feel less useful, or essential to doing a business like this now?

I think they're still essential. My kids were also at that age where they're all in high school at one point. And I purposely had to pull back on some of that stuff, just to make sure my family life was balanced. But I think they're important, because that way you don't lose touch with folks. Those are things I personally feel like I should be better at. I beat myself up for not being at those things.

I love doing fashion shows. The energy from that, everything you put into it, the reaction, I loved those times. But I'm also not sure how important it is, in some ways. Lately, before the pandemic, we started hosting a fashion show at Shindig. It's not like we went to Dillard's and had the model walk inside a department store. No, we're putting in the same energy that we would do for fashion week in that show for those customers.

And man, that reaction, and that idea of sharing that with them, was working. Because they're going right from the runway and seeing that to shopping. That's a good thing.

Do you think, stripping the pandemic away from it all, that New York Fashion Week still has a place? Because it has definitely been contracting over the past couple years. I certainly hope it does. I really do. I feel like this country still has a lot of creative people and can make some beautiful things. I feel it has a place, I really do. Does it evolve?

It's hard to think of it without thinking of the pandemic in some ways, just because of the effect this has had on everyone's businesses. But it needs to have a place. I'm pleasantly surprised by your answer, because part of me thought you had stepped away from New York Fashion Week and from the big capital-F fashion stuff, but it's nice you still have a little romance, a soft spot for it.

I can't help it. All of those things that happened for us were in many cases related to that. If we weren't doing New York Fashion Week, would we have had those successes and the recognition? I don't think we would have. I felt like we were doing our part to represent American fashion in that format. I really felt like we did our part.

I miss a little bit of that, but I totally also understand the finances of it and the effect of being able to take that same process and put it directly in front of the customer. The last thing I want to ask you, and I'm sure you've been asked this a lot, but I heard a new detail related to the famous Bond coat [that Daniel Craig wore in Skyfall ]. Billy Reid grew up in Amite, Louisiana where his mother owned a women's boutique in the hospitable environs of his grandmother's former home.

Later, he spent six years with Reebok in Los Angeles, Boston and New York, developing product and traveling extensively. Reid's clothing is known for its classic styles in high quality fabrics, but with unusual accents.

Known for blending classic southern luxury with subtle modern details, Reid's designs offer something extra for the fashion connoisseur. Reid's first collection launched in the Spring of Reid moved to Florence, Alabama.

Reid's new business model built up a small namesake chain of shops which reflected his "personality and his aesthetic" - loaded with antiques, family heirlooms and reclaimed architectural materials. Reid knows that personal style is all about the details.