WILLIAM RAST S/S2010

If anyone were to mention the name 'Justin Timerlake' it begs the question, "Where'd he go?" You don't just released a hit album and bugger off without a sound...enquiring minds need to know? Eventhough he's slowly returning to the music scene I can't help but wonder what he's been up to all this time - my guess is his been working on his clothing line William Rast, a California-based fashion line he founded along with his best friend Trace Ayala back in 2005. The name of the brand came from combining the names of Timberlake and Ayala’s grandfathers “William” and “Rast.” The brand takes high pride of denim’s American heritage by milling and dying their denim in the U.S, you can expect a lot of biker and western influences.

The success of the brand is owed to a genuine passion for what he does, combing the creativity of two best friends can only result in an authentic collection - it's modern, edgy and cool - like Americana, but remixed. It's no wonder the inspiration and the name of the latest collection is called 'New America'. “We had this idea of discoverers...and what does the modern day discoverer look like?” JT told in an interview.

Whatever he's doing, we like it! It seems like we're not the only ones - William Rast can now be found in many major high end department store such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nordstroms as well as boutiques.

William Rast show in Berlin, seemingly the male answer to Alexander Wang no?

The classic American road trip is the inspiration behind 'New America' and features many popular trends (western, military, denim) from the previous season that has been carried over into S/S. At a glance, the collection is very wearable and agrees with most of the male population who want and expect a no fuss, easy and relaxed approach to looking great. This of course might bore some of you who are looking for a little more kick from a 'celebrity' clothing line, in true western-cowboy style the collection will introduce 'fringing' to the sleeves of leather jackets. A bold step for an American brand but a welcomed one for menswear, I too am anticipating this trend to pick up soon enough.

The most sought after pieces of the collection are the leather jackets and classic dark denim jeans with the signature embroidered slashed 'V' on the back pockets. William Rast will no doubt have a promising future in menswear, the line doesn't try to fix what's not broken, but rather just updating it and bringing it up to speed with 2010. Check out the short film by Jonas Akerlund starring JT as William Rast and Erin Wasson as Birdie at WILLIAMRASTMOVIE.COM. If it's anything like the triple threat's singing and dancing - it's gonna be hot! Check out the William Rast collection.

We salute you!

- By Dennis Lye