Say Hi to William Frederick, A Luxury Menswear Brand Unearthing Ohio's Secret Talent

Think fashion, think…Cleveland?

The more obvious choices would undoubtedly be New York, Paris or Milan, but Cleveland may fit the bill just as much.

How so, you ask?

While recent records of luxury fashion may not make much of a mention of this state in Ohio, history shows differently. Even though luxury fashion has been concentrated on the coasts, it wasn’t long ago that Cleveland was a thriving centre for the garment industry. To think it nearly went head-to-head with New York at its peak in the 1920s! However, with the onslaught of the depression, globalization and other unfavourable circumstances, the title rapidly dwindled, and Cleveland disappeared from the fashion world.

Only to be brought back by William Frederick, a young menswear brand founded by local Buckeye William McNicol in 2018, with the aim to reclaim the city’s former sartorial glory.

More than being just a journey towards fame, designing and creating artistic garments is in McNicol’s roots. Having been a tenacious fellow, and a sneakerhead since he was a little kid, he took up his first job at his parents’ restaurant supply warehouse to save up for a pair of Nikes he’d had his eyes on. Even after college, when he was working as an insurance underwriter, he continued sketching sneaker designs as a secret hobby. It was only after his friends chanced upon his sketches that he was urged to actually try and make something. Producing a pair of sneakers was a challenging task, but he did manage to find a local factory that helped him materialize a Melton wool topcoat he’d conjured up.

After he took the product to New York’s fashion week, and received an overwhelming response to and demand for a self-made product, he returned home to begin full-fledged production. However, it wasn’t all a bed of roses. Finding a factory ready for manufacturing was a challenging task as most warehouses in Cleveland, even those that used to be flourishing mills, had been abandoned and shut down.

The William Frederick brand is made for the Clevelander. Both the prices and the designs are practical, not over-the-top, and mainly built on what the local man is already used to. McNicol is singlehandedly reviving the city’s fashion industry, and is doing so with respect and complete loyalty to his hometown. Having grown up in Wellsville, a village near Ohio’s West Virginia border, he knows exactly what locals look for in their clothes. One of the bestsellers of the brand is a chore jacket based on a Carhartt model the designer recalls from his days at his parents’ warehouse. Laidback silhouettes, muted neutral shades and fuss-free elasticated waists are some of the salient features of the William Frederick brand that promises durability and quality at affordable prices.