How Designer Billy Reid Brings the Menswear World to Alabama
At least twice a year I have the pleasure of visiting Florence for work to take in the latest menswear offerings from the tailors and brands that convene at Pitti Uomo. The much-lauded trade show has traditionally brought together the best of the industry, from small knitwear operations to esteemed fabric mills (and, of course, there’s the renowned street style scene). However, after my first foray in June, countless Pitti vets were quick to inform me that I was about a decade late, that the best and any sense of discovery was long gone, replaced by a handful of well-known luxury brands and their countless imitators. I feared they were right.
Last month, I found myself Florence again—Alabama, that is, for designer Billy Reid’s Shindig Revival marking the occasion of his namesake brand’s 20th anniversary. Though the parallels were uncanny (influencers in full looks, an event each evening, and a picturesque river running through town), authenticity reigned supreme, down to a riverfront tailgate for a University of Alabama football game. Post-pandemic, there are few greater allures to spent creatives than pulling up stakes in a city and heading somewhere a bit slower paced, quieter. Reid did it first—and damn if it didn’t work.
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Reid is nothing if not resilient. His first fashion show took place in New York on September 10, 2001. With the devastating events that soon followed, investor priorities shifted, and Reid eventually made the decision to pack his bags and head south to Florence, Alabama, his wife (and muse) Jeanne’s hometown. For the designer’s unique brand of Americana, Reid could not have made a more fruitful choice. For the uninitiated, the location might seem obscure. But for those in the know (and you should know), Florence and the surrounding area is a ripple in the universe, teeming with creative mojo. As Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff put it in the 2013 documentary Muscle Shoals, “there are certain places where there is a field of energy.” Whether it’s music or fashion, the statement rings true.
It’s fitting that Reid doesn’t have a storefront in Nashville. Florence is the destination, and to step into the brand’s flagship boutique in a historic building on Court Street on the town’s main drag is to be immersed in his world. In fact, I soon learn that Reid’s daughter, Abba, oversees the location when I reach the till with a must-have Muscle Shoals Sound sweatshirt, proceeds of which benefit the Muscle Shoals Music Foundation. (You’d be hard pressed to find a better-looking family.) After hours on any given night, Reid can be found jamming on the flat roof outside the upstairs design studio with friends or his son, Walt. Try that in New York City.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the renowned Southern hospitality, of which Reid is a seasoned pro. On the first evening, the Gulf oysters, cocktails, and live music were flowing and anyone who may have questioned why a menswear designer would collaborate with Williams Sonoma (as Reid has since 2022) was eating their words. Where contemporaries of Reid’s may risk diluting their brands with countless (often mindless) collaborations at a time, Reid knows himself and his customer base far too well to make such short-sighted missteps and has never shied from putting in the hard work that the garment business requires.
When I caught up with Reid pre-Shindig, he had literally rolled up his sleeves and was taking a break, in his truck, from putting the finishing touches on the festivities, while reflecting on two decades of Billy Reid the brand. “It kind of crept up on us,” he says, both of the milestone and the ideal opportunity that arose to bring back the long-annual Shindig, which was paused during the pandemic. “It was also a great opportunity to go through the archives after years of hoarding,” says Reid, who needed to clear space to make room for the influx of visitors. Plenty of gems remain and a walk through the racks reveals Reid’s greatest hits to date and timeless garments that are no less covetable today than they were five, 10, or even 20 years ago.
That’s not to say that Reid is stuck in the past at all. The designer recently acquired custom tailoring business Knot Standard, and the elegant outerwear (snow-white, wool wrap coats) and sharp suiting present during the fall 2024 at the Shoals Theater during Shindig were by far the standouts. Ditto the diverse casting featuring friends and family and a wide range of ages and sizes and the musical act, Abraham Alexander. (Though Reid modestly chalks it up to timing, it’s fair to say that Shindig has functioned as an indicator—if not incubator—of the next big things in music. See: Kacey Musgraves.)
The takeaway, after all the fabulous food and fashion, an electrifying set by the Kills, and moody, Bluegrass-inspired numbers from Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (to name but a few from a wonderfully packed schedule)? That a great American brand can thrive outside of a major fashion capital and that designers needn’t chase trends, reinventing the wheel every few months in an attempt to do so. That true luxury has staying power. Here’s to another 20, Billy!
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