In case you missed Justin Timberlake’s subtly titled “Suit and Tie,” the man is in the mood for dressing up. And while Tom Ford is JT’s current wardrobe wingman, Timberlake hasn’t been seen in his denim label William Rast recently. Today I found out why: Timberlake is leaving the label at the end of the year, the New York Post reports.
Timberlake started the label in 2006 with his childhood best friend Trace Ayala. Despite such high points as winning the American Apparel and Footwear Association’s Brand of the Year award in 2010 and, um, creating a Target collab (is that a high point?), the brand apparently suffered from “the perception [Justin’s] not involved,” which has turned out to be less of a perception and more of a prophecy.
In a non-denial, a rep for the label described Timberlake’s involvement in the brand as eternal, because the brand’s name is “a combination of Justin’s grandfather’s name and Justin’s best friend’s grandfather’s name.”
I have an inkling that Timberlake is cooking up a label of his own. Now that he’s reinvented himself as a fashion icon (you know, he does wear a bowtie now), it might make sense to pull a Posh Spice and aim for the high-end fashion market.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect: he has a second album slated for November, right when he plans on resigning from William Rast. Stay tuned for his follow-up to “Suit and Tie,” “Shirt and Sweater,” followed by his women’s wear album “Dress and Belted Waist.”
