Timberlake and his business partner, Trace Ayala, make their New York Fashion Week debut with the first East Coast William Rast show. It’ll be held at the Roseland Ballroom.

“It’s our intro to New York Fashion Week. There won’t be people flying around from the ceiling,” Timberlake says. The 9 p.m. invite-only show “is really about introducing the lifestyle we come from. It’s our opportunity to say, ‘This is who we are.’ “

Timberlake and Ayala founded the William Rast line in 2005 and named it after the first and last names of their grandfathers. Initially, the childhood friends with deep Tennessee roots focused on denim.

Hoping to expand the brand, the duo tapped husband-and-wife design team Johan and Marcella Lindeberg of the Swedish brand J. Lindeberg to help create a full ready-to-wear men’s and women’s collection for fall. The Lindebergs signed on to help Timberlake and Ayala expand both their vision and their business because they all clicked on a personal level.

“We connected with both Trace and Justin and saw how engaged they were in building a solid brand with long-term intentions,” Johan Lindeberg says. “We brought a more European, more modern tweak to the whole thing. (Justin) is very engaged.”

And working with Timberlake has its perks, Lindeberg says: “We are very, very connected. My daughter was out hiking with (Timberlake) the other day. It feels like you’re a band. We’re all members.”

The fall William Rast line ranges from $66 for T-shirts to $560 for a leather jacket and is carried at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

Ayala says he’s a big fan of the line’s new distressed chinos. As for dapper dresser Timberlake, he’s into the tuxedo jacket.

“I love some of the new jeans we’re putting out. I love the shirts and blazers. I feel like we’re definitely Tennessee first,” Timberlake says. “We’ve been around the world, both of us, and we’ve seen so many different types of styles, but I think we’re a Tennessee brand first and we’re trying to create a modern Southern heritage. We want to make it as modern as possible, but there’s a certain type of heritage we consider quality.”

USA TODAY

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