Eric Austin is a fashion designer that specializes in both men’s and women’s suits. His brand, Eric Austin Custom ,was influenced by mentors that helped him gain a new perspective on how to present oneself.
After 10 years of designing, his love for constructing suits has evolved greatly.
Austin opened up about the impact social media has on his brand and how he gets the community involved in the movement.
How does social media play a role in your company and influence your designs?
Well, going back to when I got started, social media was definitely around; [I’m] not that old. But my mentors, when I say they inspired me, I actually didn’t really care too much about clothes until I got to college.
Then when everybody was kind of dressing the same, I saw that it was the men and the young men in suits that were maybe getting a certain level of respect, or were just standing out in a way that I kind of wanted to. So, when I say they inspired me, I mostly was drawn to the way that they carry themselves.
When you do throw on a suit, a lot of people know that it comes with a certain level of respect a lot of the time. Although the clothes don’t make you, you make the clothes [and] it is a nice way to kind of set yourself apart. As far as social media, it plays a huge role. So … guys will send me pictures [saying], “Hey, I saw that you were [wearing] this. I love this [and] I want to recreate it in my own way,” or even obviously marketing and branding. Also, social media for me is a great way to just spread a level of awareness for what I have going on because each season I’ll drop new products and have new ideas that I want to get out there.
Do you see yourself partnering with any celebrities or maybe another brand?
So, there [are] a few things I’m working on this year. Some I can’t speak on, but I will say in the past I’ve worked a lot with universities. So, I’ve done some things with Morehouse, Northwestern [University] in Chicago, but [I’ve] also [worked] a lot with athletes.
Being in Atlanta, we have a lot of major sports teams. So, gentlemen from the Hawks [and] the Falcons [are clients].
Then as far as actual collaborations, there [are some] things I’m working on right now, that I’m excited about for this year. I do a lot of work with universities, not just from the clothing side, but actually just going around speaking to young men and women about dressing for the workplace and dressing for your major. Although, there [are] a lot of work-from-home [opportunities], now a lot of people are going back [to working] in person. Even with that, [in] the interview process, you still have to be presentable. So, I do a lot of work with colleagues and universities just to kind of spread the word and really teach them visually. I do [an entire] presentation on why [one’s] image is important, even [while working] from home.
