Billy Jealousy:  From Skin Care to Sportswear

Luxury men’s skin care brand Billy Jealousy is branching out into casual sportswear.

In its first effort to create a lifestyle brand, the Dallas-based skin care company has signed a licensing agreement with Crown & Eagle to produce and distribute a collection of men’s casual sportswear bearing the Billy Jealousy name and logo. Crown & Eagle is a licensee and maker of shirts for Izod Collegiate and American Goat T-shirts.

A soft launch is scheduled for spring 2012 and a full collection will be available for fall 2012. Distribution is aimed at major stores and specialty shops that sell Billy Jealousy skin care, such as Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Von Maur.

First-year wholesale sales are projected at $1.5 million to $2 million, said Steve McCullough, co-owner of Crown & Eagle.

Styles for spring will include solid polo shirts with madras accents, screened polos with under-collar details, graphic T-shirts and French cotton terry hoodies. Fall assortments will include rabbit-fur-lined hoodies, enzyme-washed jersey Henley tops and cut-and-sew button-down shirts.

Suggested retail will be “a little less” than brands such as Diesel, said Pat Parsi, co-founder of the brand.

“There are traditional brands like Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger on one end of the spectrum, while there are the more extreme and Gothic lines like Affliction and Ed Hardy on the other end. We didn’t see much in between these two alternatives, and we feel Billy Jealousy can be placed in the middle, incorporating the best attributes of both traditional lines and the more forward, aggressive ones,” explained Parsi. “We are sourcing out of Peru, so we’ll be offering great quality at a competitive price.”

Polo tops will retail for $80, while T-shirts will be priced $45 to $55 and cotton hoodies will be $90 to $100.

The company’s move into apparel is unique for a men’s skin care brand, said Parsi.

“We always perceived Billy Jealousy as having tremendous potential to become a lifestyle brand. Now the company is on its way to accomplish this by partnering with Crown & Eagle.…We always imagined Billy Jealousy as an apparel brand. The name Billy Jealousy was chosen in 2004 in large part because we believed it could expand into apparel and other areas,” said Parsi.

Co-founder Danielle Rouso said the company is looking to develop other licenses in areas such as denim, eyewear, footwear, leather goods, accessories and watches.

Rouso described the brand as upscale, hip and contemporary.

“Billy Jealousy is very upscale and is known for its cosmeceutical grade of products,” said Rouso, noting that the brand has received a dozen magazine awards from publications such as Men’s Health, Esquire and FHM. “We are opposite of the ornate brands that are now starting to wane in favor of a contemporary minimalist look. With the name Billy Jealousy, it automatically alludes to a hip and edgy vibe.”

Parsi added, “The name Billy Jealousy itself is cool, memorable and unique. Billy’s symbol is a tattooed dragon, which further builds upon the myth of the Billy Jealousy character. Our copy language is fun, sexy and irreverent…we don’t take ourselves too seriously.”

Regarding the look of the casual sportswear line, Parsi described the styling as “traditional with a twist.”

“It’s perfect for today’s bad boy — sexy, cool, unexpected,” said Parsi.

August 18, 2011 By Karyn Monget

From:      Men’sWeek Issue 08/18/2011 WWD Issue 08/18/2011