10 Years Of Billy Reid

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Billy Reid may be one of the most unique menswear brands today. Not because of its sort of neo-Americana look, but because the brand represents something a little bit different than many other brands in the menswear arena. Not to mention, to this day, it's still based in its home state of Alabama. In an age where brands seem to come and go, Billy Reid is celebrating a decade in business, so the founder himself sat down with Fashionista to talk about the brand, the business and how things have evolved over the past 10 years. The label just opened its West Village store, its 11th location overall, with more to come this year. Some of the highlights:

On picking store locations:

We definitely like spots where you can sort of be a part of the community. When we opened on Bond Street, there wasn’t a lot happening on the street and on the Bowery. It was a little quiet down there for a while, but it really helped us become a part of that neighborhood. I’ve made so many friends there.

On the importance of his 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize:

The support we’ve gotten, and the awareness it brought to what we were doing…. We did have a business [beforehand], but you know, it was a small business. I think we had six stores, but our wholesale business was really small. Six stores can sound like a lot, but when you don’t have a developed wholesale business... believe me, we needed [the money]. ... Looking back, I don’t know where we would be without it. On another level, it’s good to know that people like what you’re doing, I guess, to make you feel like you might be on the right path. It did help settle my nerves in some ways. 

On its roots in Southern culture:

I’m a Southerner. I can’t change that. Even before we had stores and going back to the William Reid days, people picked up -- unsolicited -- that there was something Southern to it. I don’t think of it as making Southern clothes, it’s just clothes that we like. ... It’s really not just about the South. It just happens to be that I’m a Southerner and that I live in Alabama. But I also spend half of my time in New York. The best thing is just to be real. If they like the clothes, then the rest of it falls into place. 

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