Frederick Scott x atmos USA
On April 10th, I had the opportunity to display the brand, Frederick Scott, at atmos USA (one of the most prominent retail spaces not only in Philadelphia but the world). This is was a surreal moment, solely because my love for fashion and honestly this industry as a whole started, in some way, at UBIQ(which is now atmos). I hope it serves as a point of inspiration for any creator sitting on an idea and is scared to push forward. That was me last year, and within six months of launching, the brand has done things I couldn't even begin to imagine. Below, I’ll add the interview I did with atmos and add a few images from the install.
A LOT OF THE STORIES YOU PUT OUT EXPLORE WHAT IT’S LIKE TO HAVE A BRAND UNDER YOUR OWN NAME - HOW DID YOU COME TO THE DECISION TO USE YOUR NAME AS THE BRAND?
In high school, around 2012-2013, I started a brand called Honors Society, and I guess you could say that I worked on that project until my senior year of college in 2017. I was never really consistent in dropping product with that brand for many reasons - laziness and wanting to be a regular college student played a big part, BUT one more prevalent thing was that the project just never felt honest. People purchased and liked what I was putting out, but I always felt as if I was putting on a front and trying to make the brand something that wasn’t 100% true to me. It was pretty exhausting. In 2019, I began to have an urge to start making clothes again, but I honestly couldn’t think of a name for the brand. Honors Society felt pretty elementary to me, so that was chalked. I landed on my name but had to come to terms with the fact that if my name is on the product, it has to be 120% a representation of me.
SO, WHO THE F*CK IS FREDERICK SCOTT?
I honestly really don’t know right now, and I'm saying that in the best way possible - I learn more about myself everyday. I mean, in short, I guess I’m a 26-year-old living in Philadelphia just trying to figure things out. I also happen to own a brand and work for the best company on earth, atmos, of course.
WHAT SEPARATES YOUR BRAND?
One of favorite brands is Ralph Lauren, they are the personification of classic, timelessness and quality. However, the story that the brand tells may not necessarily seem relatable to people who look like me. Water Polo, Country Clubs, and that lifestyle isn’t something that a lot of people I know can connect with - and oftentimes if we can’t see ourselves in it, our worth is kind of shot. I hope that my brand can kind of do what Ralph Lauren does but for people who look like me. Basically paint a picture of 'black luxury' while making it look obtainable.
YOU HAD SOME OTHER BRANDS AND VENTURES IN THE PAST, HOW DID THOSE INFORM WHERE YOU’RE AT NOW?
I think everything in the past kind of prepared me for this project. I learned how to fail, and I believe in business and life - that is a valuable lesson. You can only learn from your failures. I mean, some people don’t (lol), but I learned a lot in my case. My last project also taught me how to scale correctly. I overbought inventory and tried to make the brand big too fast, and until recently, sat on most of that product. No one purchased it, the Goodwill has it now. But yeah, learning to fail and scalability were my biggest lessons.
WHAT ROLE DID SNEAKERS PLAY IN FINDING YOUR CREATIVE STYLE? HOW DID YOU RELATE TO SNEAKERS GROWING UP? HOW HAS THAT CHANGED IN COMPARISON TO NOW?
Sneakers were what initially got me interested in fashion and this culture as a whole. Growing up my parents would buy me what was hot, but I remember in 6th or 7th grade, I asked my dad to get me a pair of Air Max 95 ‘Fresh Water’s, and since then, I've been hooked and slowly sunk into this ‘industry’ I guess.
For a while, I wore a lot of Jordans and Nike Basketball shoes, but now I’m on mostly runners. My favorite model has to be the Air Max Plus TN and directly after that would be the Air Max 98.
WHO’S YOUR DREAM COLLABORATOR FOR FREDERICK SCOTT?
A Nike or New Balance collaboration may have to happen, I'll throw that on the vision board now. Outside of those two brands, I can't say that I have a dream collaborator. I want to work with my friends more and people locally doing cool stuff - if I can. All Caps Studio, Ammo Stilo, Cold Beers & Soda, 1201 Morrison, Riveriswild, THVLVB, ADW and more are a few brands I see doing cool things in Philadelphia right now. My focus at the moment is on building the brand's ethos and story, so when opportunities do come, everything on my side looks good.
WHAT’S YOUR IDEAL SATURDAY LOOK LIKE?
The ideal Saturday would have to start with a haircut for sure. My barber comes to my crib every other weekend, so it's kind of convenient. After that I'd get my car washed - I can't look clean and have my car looking dusty, that's not a good jawn. A stop at Middle Child for a sandwich would be next, I usually get the Surfer with avocado and bacon. I spend way too much bread there, but it's worth it. 'Like Daisy Lane' by BabyFace Ray or 'Nasty Girl/On Camera' by Gunna have been in constant rotation, so as I think about the day, those are the songs that are playing.
I would like to probably mood board and work on some brand stuff at some point. Then end the day with the homies— pretty simple day. I try to work as much as I can during the week so that the weekends can be chill fr.
My name is Frederick Scott III. I recently turned 22 years old. I’m from West Philadelphia, but moved to “the county” back in 2010. I currently reside in West Chester, where I’m a student, and also the manager of a Rite Aid. I only make 9.50 an hour, so, lucky for me, my parents pay my rent.
When I was 17, I imagined my 22-year-old self having a successful brand, traveling the world, having someone to create memories with, partnering with some of my favorite brands, having a lump sum of capital and living like the characters in my favorite tv show "How to Make it in America" (please HBO bring the show back)…. But my life is far from what I dreamed it would be and I can only blame myself. I could try to place the blame on certain events or point fingers at people, but what’s the point of excuses? At the end of the day, I Frederick Scott, the one with these dreams, have been lazy as fuck. Nah seriously, like SO FUCKING LAZY. For some reason, I guess I felt like shit was just supposed to be handed to me, and that my dreams would come to fruition without putting work in--and that’s obviously a false notion.
I think what made me come to this realization was when I got denied for an internship that I know I was more than qualified for. Shit--I didn’t even make it to the interview stage. I mean other things fueled this flame, I’m sure, but not getting this internship made me realize two things:
I’ll be graduating college in less than a year with no concrete plans for my future,
This picture that I have of myself in my head is so great but has yet to surface because I hardly put the work in to actually produce any of my ideas.
People close to me see me as this creative and innovative thinker—they think I’ll change the world in some way shape or form. You know, just do things one can only dream of. I look at myself the same way, really. To the rest of the world, though, I’m just a 22 year old whose highest accolade is being a manager at a Rite Aid. It’s kind of funny when you think about it.
*****
As a kid I watched Dragon Ball Z a lot—like a lot, a lot—and I guess right now, I would compare myself to Gohan. See, Gohan was one of the strongest, if not the strongest, characters in the show. Everyone around him realized his greatness but he never really understood the extent of his power himself (I guess I want to talk about how it took for Cell to almost kill all of Gohan’s friends and his dad, for Gohan to finally realize and unleash his hidden potential, which in turn help the Saiyans beat Cell). Right now, its time for me to unlock my potential and just turn up man.
So, this website will not only serve as a portfolio but also as a creative umbrella for me to put a few projects I have in mind under. I can’t wait to show you guys what goes on in my head and I think this is the perfect platform to do so.
To be clear, Honors Society is still #1, but I will definitely be releasing a lot of the things on this site very, very soon. All I can do is tell you guys to stay tuned. Watch (but Don’t Copy). And just enjoy the things that are about to surface.