I would say that Southern gent, Billy Reid has had a few especially  good weeks of late, partially due to Houston.  First he completes the reopening of his new store to a location and look much more suiting to his style than his former, which he occupied since 2004, when he opened his very first store here in H-town (he now has 7 stores in the U.S., mostly in the South + NYC).  Moments after these festivities were over he heads to NYC where he is awarded the prestigious 2012 Menswear Designer of the Year Award by CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), an award very special as it is one that is awarded by his peers. This follows his receiving the New Menswear Designer of the Year Award and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award from this same group back in 2010. Quite an honor to receive both in the same year!  It was due to his Fashion Fund Award that Billy was invited to be a part of the “American in Paris” initiative in 2011 and asked to present his collection during March 2012 Paris Fashion Week. Read the rest of this entry »