Wall Street Journal had a chance to interview Justin Timberlake, Trace Ayala and Colin Dyne about their successful clothing line William Rast. Enjoy!
WSJ: Tell me about how the brand has evolved since you launched it four years ago.
Justin Timberlake: Our goal is a small level of success, and we are happy to have it. We feel we've made the right steps to ensure we can stick around for a long time. That means actually doing the work.
WSJ: In recent years, dozens of celebrities have started apparel brands. Now many of them are disappearing, either because of the economy, or because the celebrity is no longer in the public eye, or the clothes were bad, or whatever. What do you think when you look around and see all of that happening?
JT: When we first put this together, I said that I want to treat this like everything you just mentioned doesn't exist. We have to do the work. We have to do it the right way. We are not looking to cash in.
WSJ: Is breaking into the fashion industry harder than you thought it would be?
JT: It's harder in general. It's hard period. It's hard without being able to get your foot in the door. In some respects, the stakes are higher [when you are a celebrity, because the retailers often take on a collection right at the outset.]
WSJ: How did getting Johan and Marcella Lindeberg involved [by hiring them to design the collection in late 2007] change the way the brand was perceived by the retail world, and fashion insiders?
JT: We've always wanted to be a lifestyle brand. I went with Colin [Dyne, William Rast's chief executive] and we sat with Johan and I said, "I would like to start...moving the company forward with you." It seemed like a cool challenge [to expand the line into a full lifestyle collection]. It helped us have a creative team that focused the energy that we had. The things that we were green to, they taught us. They taught us a lot.
WSJ: Like what?
JT: Just how to take an idea from a concept to a reality. Just about the steps along the way. [Although the Lindebergs and William Rast ended their contract in December 2008] we still want to keep them on as consultants. They want to move in a direction where they can do the same thing they did with us for other brands, if they wish. To be honest, we took up a lot of their time.
WSJ: What did you learn through this whole experience of launching the brand at Los Angeles Fashion Week, then stepping back and hiring well-known professional designers?
Trace Ayala: I think when we initially did this we jumped into the collection right off the bat...we were excited, and we wanted to do everything.
JT: Creatively, we thought it was important to come out with a full collection. We didn't want to be just a jeans brand. We don't want to be just a knits brand. It was expensive and hard to focus the direction [of the collection]. That's where Johan and Marcella came in... We are happy where [the brand] is, and we see a million places where it can go.
All three of us [him, Mr. Dyne and Mr. Ayala] believe in hard work. I don't want to get to idealistic while talking to the Wall Street Journal [laughs].
WSJ: Why isn't William Rast doing a fashion show this season?
Colin Dyne: We went on a European tour--Selfridges [in London], Collette [in Paris] and in Berlin, and now here at Saks.... In the turmoil of the industry, doing a fashion show is like throwing something at the wind. In this environment I don't think it makes sense. For fall 2010 we will be there.
JT: Also, all the designers are saying, 'Why don't we just do fashion shows for the public?' And, it's not a terrible idea. I think hard times bring out good things in people.
WSJ: How do you think the collections looked this season? It seems like the economic pressure is bringing out some good design.
JT: Everyone stopped being so gluttonous with the design. Everything looks really good. [Collections are] pretty tight.
posted in Stylevia Wall Street Journal
Cam Gigandet in LA with his girlfriend, Dominique Geisendorff. Never seen a man pull of the baby sash look quite like this before. His Jaded by Knight leather jacket he's wearing is amazing; I'm loving the wrinkled detailing in the leathers that Jaded uses.
posted in Celebwear
Our apologies for not posting in months, but Zed has been busy receiving new inventory! Here are some pictures of Megan Fox to make up for it. Just watched Transformers 2 and it was... okay. She's seen here wearing PRPS Firebird Lady Light Wash.
posted in Celebwear
Wall Street Journal had a chance to interview Justin Timberlake, Trace Ayala and Colin Dyne about their successful clothing line William Rast. Enjoy!
William Rast is starting to grow at a rapid pace as a brand. The design and quality control for the clothes is amazing and it is easy to see why it's one of the few celebrity brands that are still doing well. Justin Timberlake and Trace Ayala seem to know what they're doing!
posted in Style
Obscura Digital has come out with a pool table projection system with sensors to create a very cool effect. The projector lies overhead and displays an image onto the pool table that interacts with the movement of the balls. Although the default is for the balls to reveal a "hidden" image underneath it, you can set it to simulate water ripples or even flames that trail the balls. This system isn't cheap either. The projector is $80,000 by itself and the pool table costs $120,000. That's right. You could buy two Audi R8's or a fully loaded Bentley GT Coupe.... or this pool table. Hmm. I guess this is for the guy who ran out of space in his 10-car garage.
posted in Ballin'
Supermodel Elle MacPherson was out and about wearing a pair of PRPS Dart Blue Stud Skinnies. I love the detail on the jeans... Just click on the pic to see what I'm talking about. That's designer Stella McCartney she's greeting in the striped sweater!
posted in Celebwear
Unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Audi R8 Spyder is just stunning. I think it is a far cleaner look than the hardtop, which I always enjoy in a car. I'm really liking the direction Audi is going.
posted in Zed Automobili
Before the Bugatti Veyron was created, the McLaren F1 was the world's fastest car over a decade ago. Since then, the racing powerhouse has collaborated with Mercedes to produce the McLaren SLR, which has been one of the most amazing cars. Now, they have finally unveiled a solo effort called the MP4-12C. The styling is modern and beautiful, and it contains a twin-turbo V8 pushing 600 horses with 433 lb-ft of torque. This car sports the highest power-to-emissions ratio on any engine on the market.
posted in Zed Automobili
posted in Celebwear
I do realize this is getting old. Every time David Beckham is spotted wearing denim, it's PRPS. Every time he's wearing PRPS, we put it up on our blog. But hey, if he doesn't want to stop wearing PRPS, then we don't want to stop posting about it either! Here is departing from Heathrow International to return to the States. We love his plaid shirt and brown belt too.
posted in Celebwear
Megan Fox seems to be wearing a lot of True Religions these days. I know there's people who hate rips on denim, but personally, I am a big fan! Very glad that Megan's rocking the ripped up denim trend.
posted in Celebwear
Brandy wearing True Religion Vintage Destroyed in the Joey. I thought her and Kelly had a fall out, no? Who cares. They both look great!
posted in Celebwear
Whitney Port wearing PRPS cuffed shorts with a striped shirt while she gets some lunch with a friend. Seems like she's possibly toning down her super forward fashion?
posted in Celebwear