You’d think the tough economy will slow down celebrity designers. Well, maybe some, but that’s not the case with pop icon Justin Timberlake. His clothing line, William Rast, has launched an aggressive global retail expansion. On November 1st William Rast opened 3 stores in California, heralding the launch of 40 to 50 units by year 2012.
Images via WWD
Now you can visit the newly opened shops at Westfield Century City shopping mall, Westfield Valley Fair shopping mall in San Jose and an outlet store at the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon. Next year, stores are planned to be opened in Chicago, New York, San Diego, Las Vegas, Miami and Scottsdale, Arizona. Kicking its way into the international waters, William Rast will also invade Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan. WWD also reported that you can expect to see the brand’s introduction of shoes!
Unlike other celebrity brands, William Rast almost has no visible sign of Justin Timberlake in its stores. Stepping out of the cliche is done deliberately to distance the brand from the cult of personality that often swarms a celebrity brand. Colin Dyne, chief executive officer of People’s Liberation, the mother ship of the brand stated:
“We’ve always made sure that it’s about the product first. We use Justin in the right ways. He was in our first ad campaign and he’ll be in our next ad campaign.”
We think William Rast is way cool from the start and this season, we managed to fall in love with all of their pieces. But here are our two favorites:
William Rast Waistcoat, $195.00
William Rast Outerwear Jacket, $395.oo
