Justin Timberlake on William Rast: "The spirit of the collection is new America"

Posted Feb 20th 2009 at 6:31PM by Lindsay Miller (Subscribe to Lindsay Miller's posts)

Filed under: Fashion Week, Fashion, Runway Report

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Justin Timberlake and his BFF Trace Ayala showed their denim-heavy, biker-inspired line Wiliam Rast at the Bryant Park tents for the first time this year.

"Clothes should be an extension of you," says the singer in this video taken backstage. For all of Timberlake's well-known brooding, he seems genuinely excited to have scored the coveted spot under fashion's big top. Not that it came as a surprise -- the superstar just topped GQ's 2009 list of "10 Most Stylish Men in America."

Unlike most young fashion lines, William Rast's debut at the tents drew the likes of A-listers including Anna Wintour, who sat front row. Admittedly this collection is somewhat of a departure from that of Jason Wu, the other young fashion turk the Vogue editor seems to be mentoring -- but if anyone could convince Wintour to embrace embroidered, ripped and patched denim, we have to believe it would be Justin.

William Rast

A model walks the runway at the William Rast Fall 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in the Tent at Bryant Park on February 16, 2009 in New York City.