Suited to Win

SUITED FOR THE WIN!

Miguel Wilson

Words by Rashod Davenport

From Custom Suits to Polo Matches, and Black Tie Galas on the Baltimore pier. This man has style!

My grandmother used to say “OOOOOOO that you’re looking casket sharp.” Now, (laughing) it was a compliment that you wanted and at the same time didn’t. There’s an unspoken feeling when a man puts on a suit. Everything about us changes with a suit on. We walk differently, we look at folks differently. We know, at that moment, we are the shit. I mean, let’s just call a thing a thing. One man who knows the impact of what a suit will do for a man is Miguel Wilson. Miguel owns the upscale Miguel Wilson Collection located inside of Phipps Plaza in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, Georgia. Surrounded by Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, and Michael Kors shops to name a few, Miguel’s shop in the high-end mall is not a mistake.

Miguel’s father and grandfather are meticulous dressers and were the initial inspiration and guiding forces of his impeccable style. He grew into his fashion sense in high school and knew he had a knack for putting together a flawless outfit. However, it would be that first custom-made suit with his name on the inside that would set him off. He was 26-years-old, working a corporate job, and wearing all of the major labels to work. It was when a friend of his presented an opportunity that would take Miguel from employee to business owner. With stores now open in DC, Atlanta, Miami, New York, and Kansas City, Miguel is well on his way to being a national brand.

SUAVV: When did fashion start for you? How did you become interested in it? How did that happen?

Miguel: I worked a corporate job at the time, Pillsbury food company in corporate sales. I sold biscuits. People don’t know that I worked for Pillsbury selling biscuits and green giant vegetables. But I love suits and I like the dress, but I had a couple of suits made man. And my name was on the inside. It was just such an experience, man. But what happened is the guy who made my suits was a good friend of mine. He was working for a company and decided to start his own business, asked me to be a partner because he knew how much I love clothes too. So he and I started a custom clothing company together and making suits. And during that time that we specialized a lot in the religious sector, we did a lot of pastors in the nineties such as TD Jakes, I was doing Jamal Bryant’s suits when he was in college at Morehouse, and a lot of top pastors around the country. We made a name for ourselves being one of the first ones focusing on the pastoral markets. So that was kind of how I got started.

SUAVV: Okay. And then when, when that takes off and you’ve now built this name for yourself at what point do you, I guess, separate the business or did you separate, are you two still kind of partners at this point?

Miguel: Oh no, no, no. Our partnership didn’t last too long, as most don’t. But, it served its purpose. I got my foot in the door, learned a lot, and I sold my share of the company to him. I went back to school and got my MBA. Once I graduated, I kept thinking about what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to do something entrepreneurially and I really enjoyed what I was doing within fashion. However, at the time, I had a non-compete clause from when I sold him my shares of the company. So, I had to pay him, I think it was like $15,000 so that I could get back into the industry on my own. And that was a great investment because I was able to get back into doing what I loved, I did it on the side for several years. I worked my corporate job. I started with Pillsbury then I went to work for Marriott for a few years and before I just branched out and decided, I’m going to do this full-time. The funny thing is, I never thought fashion was my landing place. I never saw this as my long-term thing. I’ve always been an entrepreneur, a business-oriented and business-minded person. So this what I was doing at the moment. I’m easily distracted, so, I tried a lot of other things in addition to fashion, but fashion is the only thing that stuck, that stayed, and I was able to maintain and grow from. There’s a lot to be said about that because you have to go through a learning curve in a business so that you can apply what you learn to become successful. So my decision to focus on the one business was one of my best decisions ever. So I had to not allow myself to be distracted by other things and other opportunities and situations and just say, “stick to this, stick to this, stick to this, and not be swayed by potential money and potential success from other things. I just stayed the course.

SUAVV: Nice. I think that’s the challenge that most people face when they branch off and decide to go into business for themselves. There are so many different distractions that you go through and all of the questioning aspects, especially when you have the bad months. So when you branch off and you hit those rocky months, how do you stay focused in this industry?

Miguel: Well, I’m gonna take you back. I remember when I quit my job and I decided I’m going to go full time in fashion, keep in mind, I had a “good job” for seven years. So I never had the financial pressure to be successful in the fashion industry. I made money, but you know, it’s different sell when you’re selling something with no pressure than when you selling it with the pressure of eating, paying rent or mortgage, whatever, you know what I’m saying? When I quit my job, this became not just my passion or my hobby per se, it’s now my livelihood. And honestly, the passion kind of went away a little bit at that time because there was so much pressure. You’re not enjoying things, you get a little desperate and you start

having to wheel and deal more and do stuff. Whereas before it was like, I don’t care if you buy something or not, I’m eating either way (laughing). It’s different when you have to start negotiating and hustling because that’s your only source of income. I had to go through a period of really trying to figure that out, man. Learning what hustling was. Because you think you’re a hustler until you have to hustle. Honestly, at the time I played a lot of golf and I was able to supplement my income on the golf course a little bit (laughing). But the thing was, I knew that it wasn’t sustainable. I needed to figure out whether I’m going to go back and get a job or figure out how I’m gonna make this thing work. I had to instill certain discipline in myself to do that. And I remember, one of the things I did was make a goal that had to meet 20 new people a day. That’s 100 people a week. From that 100, I have to able to sell to five of them. That was my business model...that was the hustle platform I created for myself to eat. Like, you know, It takes the pressure off when you understand it’s a numbers game and I just got to put myself in the right places to meet the right people. Let me go ahead and create a process of meeting people, create a process of developing relationships, and that’s why I know half of Atlanta right now. I remember my first little showroom over on Piedmont Road. It was 300 square feet. And a lot of the guys who have known me for a long time knew me from back then. You have to create a certain level of discipline within yourself. And discipline is simple. It’s just creating a good habit that you repeat every day.

SUAVV: Yeah. And it’s, it’s kind of wild. When you explain that story and for somebody like me, I come in at the point where Miguel Wilson is a known name. So how did it feel to go through that? And then now knowing that your name carries weight just in itself?

Miguel: It’s crazy because I still feel like I’m in a struggle. I think from perception, everyone thinks you’re doing it big. I’m grinding. I’m hustling harder than ever. Social media has a way of making things seem one way and reality is very different. To no fault of the people, you know? I just put stuff out there. And of course, you just internalize things. But, I put out the good, bad, and ugly. I was in Cabo on vacation a little while ago, at a little cigar bar. A brother walked up and he was like, “Hey you, sir, you’re the suit guy.”And he’s from California. So it’s always surprising to me that people recognize me. It happens quite often. And, and I get a lot of love from people who meet me that way. I don’t feel like I made it because I’m still enjoying the process. You know, I’m not rushing to get to this place or that place. I’m just focused on what I’ve been doing and focused on the business. It’s a process. You go through things, you elevate, and you continue to build.

SUAVV: So we interviewed one of your employees, Tiana, and she said that when she first asked to work for you, you told her absolutely not. And she stayed on you to a point where you just pulled her in. How important was it for you in that moment to just give back to somebody that you saw had that hunger?

Miguel: Well, I’ll tell you this. I mentor many people. Those who make an effort to do their own thing and so forth. The difference is when you want to come work within my space is where it’s more challenging for me. I’m not so open to just anybody coming and working with or for Miguel Wilson. It’s a brand and people have a certain expectation. I know how easy it is for you to mess up your name, your reputation, everything. So you have to protect that. And the people that stick with me are the people who go through a process with me and the process is they have to prove themselves on a certain level. I had a kid Darion, who worked for me. He just started his label. He came on with me under the same situation. I didn’t want to hire him, but he just hung around. And every time he saw situations and things I needed help in or he saw opportunities to improve my situation, he helped me. And he’d say “Hey, I did this for you. I did that for you.” And I’m like, “Oh, snap, that’s nice. That’s good.” He was around enough to recognize where my weaknesses were and recognize areas I needed or help. I’m not technologically advanced like that, so having millennials around and so forth, they have a different skillset. They have a different understanding. They see technology differently. To have that energy around can’t do anything but help me.

SUAVV: Absolutely. Now just kind of throw things out a little bit, you play polo. One, how did that start? And I mean, the Miguel Wilson Polo Classic is the go-to event of Atlanta. Those tickets sell out quickly. How did that start?

Miguel: It’s becoming a country-wide event. We’re doing a DC polo classic, LA polo classic, Chicago, etc. I want to take this around the country. The event came about because I was playing one day and another brother, he worked at the farm, and said, “You’re playing?” I said, “Yeah.” He said, “Man, I’ve never seen any Black guys out here playing polo.” From that conversation, it led me to think, you know, he’s right. I’m exposed to something, I’m doing something that a lot of people just don’t have access to and don’t have the opportunity to see. I have a great opportunity to really do something. The polo classic was the idea I came up with to do that. Being able to create a Black event, that is typically white... Think about that for a second, A Black luxury event. (he pauses for a second) You very rarely see Black and luxury in the same venue. That’s a rare commodity. We have a certain level of giving to each other or spending money with each other on a low-tier level. So when it comes to clothing, we’re fine with giving each other the t-shirt money. You know, the $5 t-shirt, $10 t-shirt, but the $300 t-shirt money goes to Gucci. I wanted to do a

luxury event and I wanted to use polo as a marketing tool, but also as exposure. I was able to secure Bentley as a sponsor, which gives it a certain luxurious feel as well as validation. I realized, being able to associate my brand with polo, with Bentley, with luxury, people will see you differently. I also wanted to make sure everybody associated with my event is seen differently as well. So I attached Black brands to it. There’s RedMont Vodka, Uncle Nearest Whiskey, Wifey Wines, Stella Rosa, and more. I feel like that makes it different. It’s luxury, but it’s black-oriented. Plus, timing is key. I think people are ready to see something on that level where we started to give each other more value, more credit, more benefit. On May 22nd, in Baltimore, at the Harbour, we are doing the first-ever Miguel Wilson Black Tie Experience. Which will be a formal gala out on the water with a full fashion show, orchestra, and band.

SUAVV: And I think that’s an important aspect to point out. When you give people an elevated level experience, it makes you step up and you walk away wanting more. If you give people a birthday party kind of event, it’s going to just make them appreciate birthday parties. But if you put folks in tuxedos and gowns and travel to a pier, you’re mind will be blown and you’ll want more of those luxury/upscale types of events.

Miguel: They want something that is not typical. They want something special, you know? That’s what I focused on doing. But again, this is operating within my space. I do luxury. I think about things the way I want them done. I don’t want to do basic events. I want to dress up. I want to put a tuxedo on. I want to look fly. I want to feel good. I want to have fun, helicopters flying, and champagne pouring. Whatever I can do to help create that environment, that atmosphere, that feeling, is what I want to do. You walk up and you see the helicopters landing and the Bentleys rolling in. You realize this is not your everyday party. This is not your typical situation. You walk down here on the water and you see the orchestra playing and you see all Black people with tuxedos on, sipping champagne. You that’s not typical. I want that experience. It’s amazing.

SUAVV: It’s definitely a luxury event and there is nothing like seeing all of these Black folks, dressed up in Kentucky Derby-style clothing, drinking fancy cocktails, and watching a polo game. It was an experience. However, there was a social cause for this as well. Then to top it off, you recently helped create a polo team for Morehouse, which is an HBCU first.

Miguel: The Miguel Wilson Polo Classic raised money for our foundation, which is Ride to the Olympics. We named it that because there’s never been an African-American to ride on the United States equestrian team. The concept is to be able to give inner-city kids the opportunity to ride, be exposed to horses, but also be exposed to the people. Success in life is around exposure. Most of us can credit who we know and some level of exposure to things that take us to where end up being in life. So we’re taking kids, who don’t have access to millionaires, business owners, and corporate executives and introducing them to build relationships. These are the people that own horses. These are people that play polo. These are people that do showjumping. So now you’ve got these kids in these environments, around the people they would have never met. Because these people are not going to the hood. We started focusing more on polo to create inner-city teams with the idea and that if a kid from the hood learns to play polo, his confidence level and belief in himself is such that he believes he can do anything in the world. There’s a certain respect that people give you when you do certain things, he plays golf, plays polo... you’re a different type of brother, you’re automatically elevated. In this country, bro, people meet you, they want to know what you do, who are you, whatever. And then you get categorized on a level. Every kid can’t play basketball or football. There are kids in the hood that could be professional polo players and professional polo players can make a million dollars a year traveling the world playing. So it’s a lot of potential opportunities, but if nothing more than to gain exposure to people, that’s life-changing within itself. The opportunity came to create the team with Morehouse because we had a kid who played polo and he was an entering freshman. We had a meeting one day and we jointly decided, let’s just try to start a team there. So my foundation funded the team. We wanted to give our kids, our inner-city kids, mentors at a college level so that they can look and say I want to be like him. He’d go to college. He played polo, you know, versus, looking up to the drug dealers or looking up to just the ballplayers, you know this now you’ve got somebody who looks like you that exposes you to something different. Morehouse is the first black college polo team in history. Making history wasn’t the goal when we did it, it was, it was to help the foundation and giving kids exposure and mentorship.

SUAVV: And I think thats what’s Interesting. It’s rare for us to see a horse as inner-city Black kids. So just seeing a horse in itself blows our minds, but, seeing someone black with a horse is almost unheard of at this point. It’s which is crazy because, in our history, we’ve owned horses.

Miguel: Yeah. Did you know that, in the twenties, there was an army core of blacks questions that taught horsemanship at West Point? Before all the money, the early Kentucky Derbies were won by black jockeys. We have a rich history when it comes to horses but, we don’t know our history a lot of times, so we don’t get exposed to that place.

Miguel: I’m not trying to find my legacy. God creates opportunities for me. I just do what I love to do. I’m going to write a book about things, just the facts, I want to tell my own story. I want to be able to be a positive impact on those around me. I want to take my family to a higher level while utilizing my talents, my resources to make a difference. We all have something we meant to do. I’m just trying to do what I’m meant to do.