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A New Lingua Franca Collaboration — And What It Really Means

November 13, 2025

Two years ago, on this exact day, something happened that I still haven’t fully wrapped my mind around: we launched my very first collaboration with Lingua Franca. Cashmere sweaters. T-shirts. Sweatshirts. Luxury pieces from a real New York fashion house… tied to the words and humor and phrases that come straight out of the South I call home. And all y’all sold it out. Completely.

Today, we’re doing it again — and I want to take a minute here, on my own website, to actually talk about what this means, why it matters, and why I’m so proud of it.

The South, My Voice, and Why This Matters So Much to Me

I am, at the end of the day, just a boy from Mississippi. I always loved art. I grew up doodling dresses, shirts, outfits, and ideas in the margins of my notebooks — getting in trouble constantly because I wasn’t paying attention. I loved fashion before I ever knew what “fashion” even meant. I certainly didn’t know that New York Fashion Week existed, or that Lingua Franca was a brand that showed in those circles, or that one day I’d walk into their Jane Street store and see Southern phrases embroidered on sweaters hanging there.

But here we are.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll keep saying it: I want people to be proud of where they’re from and how they sound. We get told so often that we have to change our voice, or neutralize it, or switch it off to fit into “the real world.” That is not true. The way you speak is part of your story. And this collaboration lets me put our phrases, our humor, our identity right in the middle of New York fashion — on a scale I could never have reached on my own.

And I’m proud of that. I’m proud for the South. I’m proud for the kids like me who used to sit in class drawing outfits instead of paying attention. And I’m proud that my audience has carried me to a place I didn’t even know to dream of.

Yes — These Sweaters Are Expensive. Let’s Talk About It Honestly.

Let me say the hard part out loud, because I don’t want anyone feeling confused, left out, or hurt: these sweaters are expensive. They were expensive last time. They are expensive this time. And when I posted them before, I took a lot of heat. Some of the messages were ugly, and honestly, I understood why — because these are things I personally wouldn’t have been able to afford for most of my life either.

So let me explain what’s behind the price, plainly:

• These are extremely high-quality, made-to-last luxury pieces.
• They’re made in America.
• The embroidery is done by hand.
• Lingua Franca is a genuine high-fashion brand — the kind that shows during Fashion Week.
• And they lowered their prices as much as they could so that this collab could even exist.

Those are just the facts.

And here’s the best part of the whole thing: 10% of every single sale goes directly to the Domestic Abuse Family Shelter in Mississippi. That shelter does real, life-saving work. The money from this collaboration goes to real people in real situations who need help right here in our home state.

That is one of the biggest reasons I am proud to have this line. I want people to know that this collection does good beyond the fashion.

If This Isn’t Accessible to You — Please Know I See You

I know these pieces aren’t accessible for everyone. I don’t expect them to be. I don’t want anyone to feel embarrassed, frustrated, or left out, and I don’t want anyone thinking I’ve “forgotten where I came from.” I haven’t. Not for one second.

If you’re excited about the collaboration but can’t buy a sweater, please know that:

• Sharing the collection helps.
• Talking about it helps.
• Not liking it is also fine.
• Being mad about it is fine. I get it. Truly.

This isn’t the last thing I’ll ever make. This isn’t the peak of the mountain. This is one step on a long road. And when I have the power and the resources, I absolutely plan to create my own merch line with the same ethics but also affordability in mind. I think about that all the time. I want things that everybody can enjoy, not just a luxury segment.

This collaboration doesn’t cancel that out — it helps make it possible.

Gratitude, Plain and Simple

The truth is: the only reason I have this line at all is because of y’all. Not just the people who buy the sweaters. Not just the people who can afford them. Everyone who has ever supported what I do — even quietly, even from the sidelines — got me here.

Lingua Franca did not discover me by accident. You put me on their radar. You made them pay attention. And Rachelle — the nicest, most generous person, and now a real friend — took a chance on me and on the South. She believed we had something worth celebrating at the highest level of fashion.

I will never stop being grateful for that.

I will never forget who brought me here.

And I hope, truly, that you’re proud of this with me — whether you buy a sweater or whether you’re just cheering from afar.

We took the South all the way to Manhattan.
We put “all y’all” on a fashion house wall.
And we supported people who need it most in our home state.

That means something.

Thanks for getting me here. More to come — and one day, something for everybody.