Menswear designer Billy Reid knows fashion doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Culture—music, especially—has long had an influence on the Louisiana native, both in the clothes he designs and the areas in which his brand gets involved. One of those areas of involvement includes philanthropy, which he’s leaning into this week as he teams up with the Trombone Shorty Foundation, a music education organization that strives to instill a love of performance and musical culture in New Orleans’ next generation of players.
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Reid’s NOLA store is hosting Shorty Fest’s kick-off party May 2, a benefit concert for its namesake organization. We talked to Reid about his brand’s work with the group, his own musical influences, and his home state of Louisiana.
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SHOP BILLY REID
His community involvement is genuine.
[At Billy Reid], we’re constantly doing things outside the realm of fashion. The first thing always is the community. It’s seeing something and thinking, “Wow, what a cool thing. How can we help?” The Trombone Shorty Foundation is a tremendous thing that Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews started. It’s giving kids access and education to music, and it has a result you can see. The children will actually come to the store and play, and it just raises the hair on your arms. If something like that feels natural, and it’s in your gut, it’s usually the right fit. I try to let those passions and interests—things you want to help—come from a personal point of view, because then you know there’s a passion behind it. There’s a pure reason.
He designed a shirt for the occasion, too.
Last year, we collaborated with the foundation to do a one-of-a-kind camp shirt, which sold out immediately. We scaled it up this year, making 100 custom polos with an abstract trombone emblem and a tonal screen-printed “Shorty” across the back. They sold out, too. [But there will be limited-edition shirts available at the Billy Reid store in New Orleans.]
His roots will always be in Louisiana.
Louisiana doesn’t leave you. We’re very, very prideful of our culture. It’s something that’s in your blood at an early age. It was such a dream to be able to open a store in New Orleans. I love being part of this community. [Around Jazz Fest] is such a special time, too. You have so many genres of music all in one spot. The diversity of the lineup creates the diversity of the crowd. You can really see how music brings people together.
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He’s a big music fan, too.
I’m a music freak. I play music, I write music, I love music. I have so many friends I’ve made through music. It’s kind of a natural thing. [I use music for inspiration] all the time. If you look at the mood boards around here, you’d see everyone from the Allman Brothers to Pink to Kid Cudi. I’ll use them to inspire a mood, a pattern, or a color. You might see how the pocket of a shirt was cut a certain way, and make something out of it. There’s a photograph of Mick Jagger wearing a white suit and bright red shirt, for example. Let’s look at it: That red is awesome; let’s figure out how to incorporate into things. We enjoy researching and finding small details to bring to the surface.
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