Billy Reid (fashion designer)
Encyclopedia
Billy Reid is an American fashion designer. His clothing is known for its classic styles in high quality fabrics, but with unusual accents - "low-fi Southern-bred luxury" according to Reid's site.

Origins

Reid grew up in Amite, Louisiana, just south of the Mississippi border. He operated a women’s clothing boutique located in his grandmother’s home. Reid's hobbies included outdoor activities in the surrounding Southeast Louisiana wetlands.

Education

Reid attended Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University is a state-funded public university in Hammond, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims, the principal of Hammond High School, as Hammond Junior College, located in a wing of the high school building. Sims succeeded in getting the campus...

. Later he attended the Art Institute of Dallas
Art Institute of Dallas
The Art Institute of Dallas in Dallas, Texas, United States, is part of The Art Institutes, a system of for-profit colleges. The Art Institute of Dallas offers bachelor's and associate's degree programs for fashion design, fashion & retail management, interior design, graphic design, media arts &...

 and studied fashion design and merchandising. While still at the Art Institute, he started working for Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...

. After Saks he worked for 6 years at Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...

 International, travelling across the globe for the first collections of Greg Norman. He started his own company in 1995 with clients including Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is currently a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.-Company profile:...

, Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus, formerly Neiman-Marcus, is a luxury specialty retail department store operated by the Neiman Marcus Group in the United States. The company is headquartered in the One Marcus Square building in Downtown Dallas, Texas, and competes with other department stores such as Saks Fifth...

, Reebok and Takashimaya
Takashimaya
is a large Japanese department store chain.Founded in 1829 in Kyoto by Iida Shinkichi as a retailer of used clothing and cotton cloth, the store now has outlets throughout Japan and also in Taipei, Paris and Singapore....

.

Reid's first collection launched in Spring 1998. He received the prestigious CFDA "Best New Menswear Designer award" in 2001, but economics forced him to close his business shortly afterward in Spring 2002. Reid moved to Florence, Alabama
Florence, Alabama
Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state.According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721....

.

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, they "took on a very personal, warm and hospitable environment."

Clothing line

His company headquarters is in downtown Florence, Alabama
Florence, Alabama
Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state.According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721....

 in a turn of the 20th century bookstore. Downstairs is his flagship shop and upstairs is his design studio. There are also shops on Bond Street in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 (opened Fall 2008), Northpark Center
NorthPark Center
NorthPark Center is an upscale shopping mall located in Dallas, Texas . The mall is located at the intersection of Loop 12 and US 75 . The center has over 235 stores and restaurants. NorthPark is the first shopping center featured on Vogue Magazine...

 in Dallas, Nashville, Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...

, Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, and Houston. The stores are notable for their atmosphere of faded elegance, for example the New York store has faded chairs and carpets, an antique chandelier, mounted deer head, and antique apothecary cabinets.

His clothes are sold in many Bloomingdales stores across the US. There is also a line of K-Swiss
K-Swiss
K-Swiss, Inc. is an American footwear company based in Westlake Village, California. The company designs, develops, and markets a range of athletic shoes under the K-Swiss brand.- History :...

/Billy Reid sneakers.

Awards

  • 2001, CFDA "Best New Menswear Designer award" (Perry Ellis award)(as "William Reid")
  • 2008, New York Magazine "Best Men's Store" (for New York retail store)
  • Feb. 2010, GQ "Best new menswear designer in America"
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