Shopping with. . . Menswear Designer Billy Reid

By Chris Frey
April 22, 2010

Alabama-based, Louisiana-bred fashion designer Billy Reid's aesthetic lovingly mirrors the Southern American style he grew up with—a look that has been described as "southern luxury," but runs the gamut from formal but relaxed pieces like slim-cut seersucker jackets, canvas loafers, and silk bowties to field and work wear-inspired pieces like handmade washed leather boots, shrimper coats and waxed cotton pants.

Reid, who was recently awarded the 2010 GQ/CFDA Best New Menswear Designer in America and who describes his forthcoming fall collection as “Southern preppy meets workwear junkie meets East Village folk,” is devoted to “well-made pieces that look better with age…from a turn of the century antique lamp to a wax cotton hunting jacket.” His meticulous attention to detail is evidenced in shoes that are “broken in right out of the box and ready for sockless wear” and in smaller touches such as buffalo bone buttons and heirloom ribbon detailing.

Reid may be best-known for his menswear collections, but he designs a women's line as well, with standouts that include this seasons easy, pretty "Pool Dress" and hands-down the best denim washes we've seen in ages.

Reid also lays bare his sense of humor (while simultaneously supporting regional American brands) through more casual pieces such as a fire engine red Union Suit with a patch that reads “Make Cornbread Not War” and t-shirt that promotes Peg Leg Porker, a regional BBQ sauce. And in the sprit of the hunt—and of the South—he's even designed a leather shotgun case.

These days, while many designers are producing collections that strive to emulate American country life in the early 1900s, Reid has gone a more authentic route, striking partnerships with classic Americana brands. He has partnered with Levi’s for a collection due in stores September and is collaborating with Stetson on a collection he says will include “work wear and outdoor-inspired headwear that uses Nutria (“the righteous fur” [made from the made from byproducts of the Coastwide Nutria Control Program in Louisiana]), waxed cottons and deadstock military fabrics.”

Reid, who grew up near the wetlands of Louisiana, was greatly influenced by a shop his mother ran inside of his grandmother's former home. "The boutique was a gathering place—like 'Steel Magnolias,'" he says, referring to the hair salon in the iconic movie starring Julia Roberts. "There was always food, women talking and people passing through. You felt like you were visiting a home as opposed to a retail shop.”

He has worked to recreate the same “social vibe and sense of community” in his own shops in Nashville; Dallas; Houston; Charleston, Florence, Alabama, where his headquarters is located; and New York’s East Village. The shops are a direct line to the core of Reid’s universe: family heirlooms, good music and good people, not to mention stunning antiques, reclaimed materials and, of course, the clothes. Reid and his wife, Jeanne, share a passion for interiors, antiques and restoration. He recalls, “It started with our first home together—restore and sell, then buy another and so on. When we started to build out our own shops, we took details and the decor from our home here in Florence—[items from the] Victorian era [that were] very prevalent in the late 1800s South—that we had restored with reclaimed materials. We wanted to create a feeling of warmth and hospitality.”

The New York flagship, where you can peruse the collections while sipping a sweet tea or bourbon, is completely furnished with reclaimed materials. Reid says of the painstaking, but ultimately rewarding process: “We searched and gathered for several months to stay true to this project. We brought up some guys from Florence to help build out the shop; guys who had helped us restore our home. We transported things like antique apothecary cabinets, 20 black walnut church pews, heart pine floor joists that we milled into flooring, and 35 paneled doors from an abandoned school in Jackson. I love antiques and taking something with a sense of history and making it useful in a modern world.”

Reid’s perseverance to a project is nothing new. In 2001, upon launching his first collection in New York, then called William Reid, he was awarded the prestigious CFDA Perry Ellis Award. Struggling to continue in the shadow of 911, he was soon forced to close shop and reevaluate his business. He ultimately returned to the South and credits “a lot of great, loyal customers and friends” with the reinvention and rebirth of his brand. "We built the business that we have today by opening the regional stores first and directly connecting with people through evening socials, bespoke suiting appointments, live performances in store, etc.” he says.

It is this grassroots spirit, not to mention Reid's impeccable design sense, that drives customers to affiliate with his brand. His website links you to a Facebook page that not only provides news and images of the collections but also serves as Reid’s virtual inspiration board, with everything from updates on favorite musicians and local gigs to a loving obituary for Civil Rights Era photographer Charles Moore.

We went to Reid, who loves entertaining (you just need “people and a damn good attitude!”) and family (“There is nothing else.”), to find out what’s inspiring him right now.

Music, for one thing, is an enormous part of his life: the walls of his shops are covered in photographs of rock and blues legends who recorded at Alabama’s historic Muscle Shoals Studio; he references musicians Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons and Kris Kristofferson as style icons; and he makes baseball caps with patches for favorite bands, including his own, “The Seersuckers.” He shared with us what he’ll be listening to now and into the summer (we’re guessing on vinyl): Wrinkle Neck Mules, Charlie Mars, One Eskimo, Herbie Mann, The Civil Wars, Connor Oberst, Jessica Lee Mayfield, and Sarah White.