Story Published in This is Alabama

Billy Reid proves there’s a place for high fashion in the Deep South. Just like a long list of other artists before him, Reid claims home to the Shoals, a conglomerate of four cities in Alabama’s northwest corner often credited with being the birthplace of the blues.

Reid’s decision to headquarter his clothing brand in Alabama happened not long after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Reid was operating out of New York City at the time, and his business took a hard hit after the attacks.

“We decided to move to Alabama and kind of hit restart,” said Reid, noting that his wife hails from Florence and the move just made sense for his family and his brand. Moving down South, Reid said, felt a lot like coming home anyway.

He grew up just a few miles south of the Mississippi state line in Amite, La. He was first exposed to the fashion world when he was a child. His mother owned a small women’s boutique tucked inside Reid’s grandmother’s former house. There, Reid unknowingly began cultivating his fashion sense.

“It was very hospitality-centric,” Reid said of his early years pitching in at the family shop.  “I grew up around (fashion), not really thinking that it would be what I would actually go into when I got older.”

After flunking out of Southeastern Louisiana University with an incomplete degree in Physical Education, Reid’s parents suggested he study fashion at the Art Institute of Dallas. That suggestion proved fruitful as Reid quickly took to the trade. While in school, he worked at Saks Fifth Avenue, and then later embarked on a six-year stint with Reebok International where he got to travel the globe.

In 1998, the burgeoning designer launched his first menswear collection, William Reid, which took off considerably and established him as an influential designer to be reckoned with.

Now with 13 stores open nationwide, the Billy Reid brand is making its mark on the fashion landscape. The brand’s aesthetic is inherently classic, and punctuated with a self-described “lived-in luxury” hallmarked by crisp button-downs and preppy sports coats. It’s something you could easily envision a young Sam Cooke wearing.

“I’m a southerner, and at the end of the day (my work) is certainly going to have a little bit of that influence,” Reid said.

His flagship store is located in the heart of downtown Florence, just a few miles away from where Percy Sledge first recorded “When a Man Loves a Woman” and Aretha Franklin shook radio waves with “Respect.” Living and working in the Shoals, Reid said, offers the perfect blend of creative energy and community.

“One of the unique things about Billy is his world-renowned recognition, yet he’s also out there coaching a ball team,” said Florence Mayor Steve Holt.

Almost a decade ago, Reid decided the rest of the world should know about what’s going on in his adopted hometown, so he started Shindig — an annual festival meant to celebrate all things southern. Going on its ninth year, Shindig has attracted acclaimed chefs as well as musicians including Jack White and Alabama’s own St. Paul and the Broken Bones and the Alabama Shakes.

“It just paints a really great cultural picture of what this whole region is about,” Reid said.

As for what lies ahead for his brand, Reid said he plans to let all his experiences, both southern and global, affect his style. And he doesn’t plan on relocating anytime soon.

“There’s not a lot of difference between what I see in a coffee shop in Brooklyn and what I see at Rivertown Coffee in Florence,” he said. “Fashion isn’t just regional anymore. I really think that having that sort of (southern) base, and then bringing the rest of the world into it to create something, that’s what makes it all wonderful.”