Reese Cooper is a

fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...

er born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. He launched his eponymous brand in 2016 without training or attending fashion school. In 2019 he was a finalist for the CFDA Vogue Fashion fund. He debuted his first full collection in 2018 at

Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week (, commonly ) is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Pa ...

Early life and design inspirations

Reese Cooper was born in

, and raised in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, before moving to London at age 11. Cooper's interest in design and creativity started from a young age. When speaking with ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', he cited schooling and his family as impacting the way he viewed creativity; "I knew I wanted to make stuff. I didn't know it would be clothes, but in the regular education system you're not really taught that you can just go make stuff regardless of what it is. I always had a fascination with how things are made through spending a lot of time with my grandfather when I was younger. He made everything that they need at the house.” As for other inspirations and brands he admires, Cooper also cites

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...

as one of his favourite brands due to the expansive universe that the brand has created. He has also said that "early

Off-White Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme. In color theory, a ''shade'' is a pure color mi ...

" by the late

Virgil Abloh Virgil Abloh (; September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. A trained architect, Abloh founded his own line of luxury streetwear clothing under the moniker Pyrex Vision in 2012, which he transfor ...

was "incredibly inspiring" to him at a young age.

References

American fashion designers Living people 1998 births {{Fashion-bio-stub