William Rast: Partying to Success
Trace Ayala
There are store parties. There are meet-and-greets with designers. Mix the two and it may create some cash and a lot of customer goodwill for a brand. That’s what Trace Ayala hopes the monthly "Thursday Night With Trace" event will do for the William Rast boutique at the Westfield Century City mall. He kicked off the low-key fashion mixers on May 6, and it’s a bit of a break from the past of Rast.
Ayala co-founded the premium-denim brand William Rast in 2005 with his childhood friend and now-humongous pop-star Justin Timberlake. Timberlake has appeared at high-glitz events for the brand, which paid off in a lot of publicity. To spark sales and build a social scene around the stores, Ayala will be the host of the Thursday Night with Trace get-togethers, which, of course, will be made more fabulous with drinks and a DJ. The next one is scheduled in Century City June 3. Also next up, the William Rast brand will debut men’s and women’s footwear and eyewear lines. It also plans to open more than 20 stores in the next three years.
