Loading ...VIDEO: Arab American Designer Joseph Abboud's focus is creating quality menswear that's made in America
By ENJOLI FRANCIS,ERIC NOLL, ESTHER CASTILLEJO
ABC NEWS
Growing up, Joseph Abboud always believed that dressing well, and presenting himself well, would open doors.
So much so, that in his high school yearbook, Abboud’s peers voted him “Best Dressed.”
His idea paid off: Abboud became an award-winning U.S. menswear designer and author, opening up his namesake brand and launching his first collection in 1987.
From the very beginning, the pieces were made in a factory in New Bedford, Massachusetts, just 30 miles from where he grew up with his parents.
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“We always believed, as an American designer, making it in America was really important for us,” he said. “It’s important to know that we’re a solid piece of Massachusetts.”
In 2004, Abboud sold the trademark and left his business. He told ABC News he never thought he’d work with his name again. He went on to join Men’s Warehouse as its chief creative director in 2012. Little did he know that just a year later, he’d be reunited with the brand he built and with his workers, who were still making suits in New Bedford.
“When I walked back into that factory for the first time after seven or eight years, it was a pretty emotional moment because all the people came up and embraced me,” Abboud told “World News Tonight’s” anchor David Muir. “It was like coming home again.”
These days, 800 workers cut and sew more than 1,000 men’s suits every day for the Joseph Abboud brand. He said many workers had been there for 25-30 years.
“The whole idea is creating the great men’s special store again,” he said. “We want the best prices we can give our customers, with all our products … But it really is about the quality first and the experience.”
