Guest Post by Pammy Rosen: Who is William Rast?

Who is William Rast? Actually the name “William Rast” is really a creative combination of the names of two old friends—the grandfathers, in fact, of singer Justin Timberlake and his childhood friend Trace Ayala. It seems Justin and Trace continued their grandfather’s tradition of friendship, growing up together in Memphis, TN, and later touring the world when Justin’s singing career took off and Trace went along as his personal assistant. True to form of starting new ventures together, in 2005 these two buddies created the William Rast Clothing Line, and in 2006 they put on the first William Rast fashion show to launch the line.


The company is based in Los Angeles, CA, and to date there are two William Rast Clothing Line stores--one in Westfield Valley Fair, San Jose, and one in Westfield Century City, Los Angeles. Publicity-wise, the William Rast jeans in particular have received some air time, notably in CW’s show Privileged of 2008 when they were worn by Joanna Garcia, Trace Ayala’s fiancé, in nearly every episode. Also in 2008, Justin Timberlake starred in a series of webshorts with supermodel Erin Wasson, wherein he played a fictional William Rast. More recently, the line has also been noted in numerous fashion magazines and on fashion websites, including GQ, Fashion, MTV, StyleCom, WWD, Apparel News, Lucky, Women’s Health, Nylon and more in 2010 alone.


According to the boys, the clothing styles are meant to reflect their country hometown roots of Memphis, TN. This means that the William Rast denim line specializes in jeans (incidentally you can recognize each pair of jeans by the signature slashed “V” embroidered on the back pockets) although it also puts out different tops and jackets. Creative directors Johan and Marcella Lindebergs, previously of New York, oversee the design process of the actual products, and it seems they are keeping up with the theme of country roots style crossed with modern everyday fashion of the “hip” coastal regions. Taking their newest collection into account, five top picks reflect this sensibility in their simplicity and serviceability, yet casual sophistication.