The Herringbone Twill Interview
A look behind the scenes of a taste-making phenomenon
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I spend too much time on Instagram. I don’t want to, but I do it anyway, which makes me think there’s a part of me that actually does want it. The thing is that — besides all the crap — there’s too much going on there that I wouldn’t see otherwise, and wouldn’t want to miss. Honestly, it’s not an exaggeration to call it a virtual place of discovery.
At times, it reminds me of the early days of YouTube — the thrill of finding rare footage of NBA games or Nirvana concerts that never aired where I grew up, recorded by someone on a VCR and then uploaded using a dial-up connection. Or, to go further down this nostalgic route, I remember when bookstores sold pocket-size magazines listing URLs of interesting websites, encouraging you to surf the web.
I like opening the Instagram app on my phone, scrolling through my feed, and seeing what Colbo has in store, that Oliver Church has hit upon a new fabric, or that Paul Mescal is wearing custom Carter Young. It gives me the same sensation I got when first reading the opening page of The Age of Reason: the great simultaneity of the world. All these things are happening at the same time, and they’re happening right now.
What I like most, though, is this phenomenon of highly and idiosyncratically curated Instagram pages that, I suspect, are shaping taste — mine, at any rate — more than their creators could possibly be aware of. I’m not talking about some IG-friendly, ready-made aesthetic. I’m talking about selections of images that are as aesthetically pleasing as they’re aesthetically confusing: they show you something of which it’s quite difficult, or hard, or even impossible to say why it’s so appealing, or interesting, or fascinating.
When it comes to taste-making, that’s a huge strength, an existential condition really. Think about it: you’re never going to develop or deepen your taste by surrounding yourself with only that of which you know it already fits your taste.
Right now, for me that’s pages like Jake Feinberg Show, Designing Writing, Saint-Martin Bookshop, De Architects, thv4gsb, Liam Battle, and — perhaps most of all — Herringbone Twill. Over the past few years, that last page has become somewhat of an Instagram sensation. It’s got over 57k followers now and, looking only at our shared connections, these include industry taste-makers like Gauthier Borsarello, Nick Wakeman, and Daniel Brøndt. With 3.260 posts and counting, the three guys behind Herringbone Twill are prolific IG users, sharing at least four or five one-image posts every single day.
But, you may wonder, who are they? Where do they find these beautiful, funny, slightly nostalgic, and always strangely fascinating pictures? What makes all of the Herringbone Twill imagery so unmistakably Herringbone Twill? Don’t despair, I’ve got the answers directly from the source. Here’s a first-ever look behind the scenes of this IG-era taste-making phenomenon, in the form of three separate chats with its creators: Albert Johnson, Colin Shields, and Grayson Thornberry.
Who are you? And how did you get into style and fashion?
Albert Johnson: I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and went to the University of Cincinnati to study fashion design. That’s where I met my two friends Colin and Grayson. I always had an interest in style and fashion but really decided I wanted to pursue it in high school, after inheriting my uncle’s closet — a 1990s time capsule, full of Nike tracksuits, Guess jeans, and graphic tees. I’m currently an associate apparel designer on the graphic tees team at Hollister and I assist with the Abercrombie and Fitch archive in my free time at work.
Colin Shields: I grew up in Cincinnati, and briefly lived in Atlanta, Georgia and Columbus, Ohio. My grandfather worked in menswear for most of his life, living between New York City and Cincinnati. His father had started a menswear clothing company that owned and manufactured quite a few classic American brands from the 30s to the 90s. In the 1980s, he also started his own knitwear company using strictly Icelandic wool. Along with him, my grandmother was an interior designer with an incredible aesthetic eye, devoted to classicism with a tinge of early American. Both my parents were creatives in their own right. My mom is also an interior designer, and my dad is a chef.
In my early high school years, I started working in a menswear shop in Cincinnati. Around the same time, I also learned to sew. I was already sure that I wanted to study fashion design in college, and that’s what I did. I, too, studied at DAAP [The College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning] at the University of Cincinnati, with Albert and Grayson.
Now, I work for a menswear brand in New York called J. Mueser. I do design and product development, overseeing our ready-to-wear line.
Grayson Thornberry: I was always concerned with style and the way I presented myself, from a very young age. I recall moments as early as kindergarten, talking about the clothes I was wearing and why I liked them. In one particular case, a girl at school had commented that my shirt looked girly, but I assured her that the tight, shrunken fit made me feel cool and that’s why I liked it.
I was an active kid and chose soccer as my sport. Due to its culturally stylish appeal, I was heavily influenced by soccer players and the way they dressed and did their hair. I fell in love with soccer cleats and decided I want to design footwear from a very young age. As the others will have told you, I ended up studying fashion design at the University of Cincinnati. Following my graduation in May 2023, I moved to New York City to design sweaters and accessories for Todd Snyder.
What do you remember about the start of Herringbone Twill?
Albert Johnson: From what I remember, in early HBT days we wanted a mood board to express our joint interests. Since we had class together and often needed to gather inspiration for projects, we figured it would be cool to start sharing some of that online.
Colin Shields: From what I recall, HBT was started as a fun and easygoing thing for myself, Albert, and Grayson to work on together. In a way, it still remains that.
Grayson Thornberry: The original idea was to create a place to share inspiration between the three of us while we were studying. We felt we had three different points of view that could co-exist, ultimately allowing us to understand new perspectives that would help us become better designers. We consistently posted on the account for years whilst in school as a common reference source. I was extremely grateful for such a curated book of imagery, and valued our zoomed-in lens of what we considered to be taste. For me at least, I can attribute a large part of my eye to the exploration we did through our page.
How do you feel Herringbone Twill has changed since its start, about five years ago?
Albert Johnson: Not a whole lot has changed. Our styles have definitely developed more and we have grown a similar sort of curation across multiple themes. I post a bit less than I used to as my time on Instagram is bit more sporadic now. Grayson and Colin really honed in on the style of the imagery that we are known for today.
Colin Shields: I think the rate at which we post has gone up quite a bit and our reach has also increased. I think that we all take it a little more seriously than we did when we started it. Within our following, there are a lot of creatives working in fashion, interior design, architecture, etc. Some that I personally have looked up to for years. It has been fun and rewarding to see the people who find what we do interesting.
Grayson Thornberry: Factually, not much has changed. What started as a dumping ground has sort of stayed as one. We never really gave ourselves rules or parameters for what or when we posted. I guess we were much more liberal in our approach in the beginning; maybe we would miss a day or two of posting, but that’s about it.
As we’ve seen our following grow, I would say for me at least, sometimes I am a bit more attuned to what I’m posting. If I notice that traction is slowing down on a certain post, I’ll make sure to post something that I think will do well (from an interaction point of view). However, I really try to stick to my original way of thinking about the things I’m sharing: I’m only sharing things that I like or inspire me personally.
Is there any planning or coordination involved in running Herringbone Twill together? If so, of what kind?
Albert Johnson: Colin and Grayson can definitely answer this better, they are roommates in New York so I’m sure they talk of it in passing. Most days there are morning, mid day, and then night schedule for posting to sort of keep the momentum and we each just post some photos we found and/or feel inspired by that day. I myself scroll Pinterest each morning to try and find some cool images to post that week, and also scroll what else has been posted on the account by Colin and Grayson.
Colin Shields: There’s not much of a set schedule. Grayson and I tend to post around the same times every day. However, there’s not much discussion between what’s being posted.
Grayson Thornberry: I would call it less of a schedule and more of a routine. I get up pretty early, which leaves me a decent amount of time before work. I find that it’s the best time for me to look for images, so I tend to post in the mornings. We’ve never really discussed a schedule for posting, we are all free to share whatever we want whenever we want.
I’m pretty sure there now exists something people would call a “Herringbone Twill aesthetic”. That said, I’m also certain many will struggle to define what it is. Can you?
Albert Johnson: I was looking at some of our images recently and a few words that made me think of our curation were personal, playful, and nostalgic. Some of our most viral images have a sort of humorous aspect to them but also feel very human made and emotional.
Colin Shields: I honestly also have a hard time defining the “HBT aesthetic” in words. I think there is noticeable repetition of aesthetics that are posted consistently by each one of us. But I don’t necessarily think there is a statement that can describe what it is. However, I think the overlap between the three of us lies in the taste level in in each of our own aesthetics.
Grayson Thornberry: I think we all speak our own language as to what inspires us, however I also think we understand each other’s language very well. This helps assist in a fluid feeling of an “HBT aesthetic.” Personally, what I post is dictated by the way I’m feeling at that moment in time. So, photos that trigger emotion resonate well with me, whether that’s humor, romance, a sense of eerie stillness, coffee in the morning, food when I’m hungry, etc.
What role does Herringbone Twill play in your life? Is it a welcome distraction? A heartfelt commitment? A daily chore?
Albert Johnson: HBT feels to me like a fun way to get inspired outside of work. I always find in corporate fashion it’s nice to have outlets in order to “stretch your legs” creatively and express your personal style.
Colin Shields: It’s definitely a commitment but one that I enjoy doing. Personally, I am always on Pinterest and searching for inspiration for work. Collecting images is almost second nature. I also have an extensive collection of books in my apartment. Sometimes I will take a stack of books and go to town making digital scans.
Grayson Thornberry: I see HBT in the same way as I did the day we made our first post; as a platform to share what I’m feeling inspired by with my friends. It’s a very heartfelt thing to me.
However, since we’ve graduated and started our professional careers, the use case for the page has shifted a bit. We are no longer using it as inspiration for mood boards, but instead we apply our findings to our jobs as designers. Not only do I find its value applied to my job at Todd Snyder, but more so as a liaison to showcase my own personal taste level to as many people in relevant industries as I can. An online community is a modern currency that’s more valuable now than it ever has been.
Where do you typically find the imagery you post?
Albert Johnson: My image searching happens based on whatever is inspiring me at the time, whether that’s vintage clothing, old films, or whatever podcast I’m listening to or book I’m reading. I generally start with one of those topics and branch off from there. That typically happens through Pinterest or Google when digging in more.
Colin Shields: I find a large amount of my images between Pinterest, blogs, and internet photo archives. As I already said, on top of those sources, I also make photo scans from my own book collection.
Grayston Thornberry: I mostly find my images from Pinterest. I’m always on it for work so it’s easy for me to get inspired for HBT. I follow a lot of other mood board pages that offer great inspiration, but I try to build our own world of HBT. It’s rate that I share something from another mood board page on IG.
Herringbone Twill is somewhat of an Instagram phenomenon. That makes me wonder: What do you use it for, besides posting? Any pages or people you follow that you’re particularly fond of?
Albert Johnson: Some of my favorite pages are Sanforized, Gauthier Borsarello, L’Etiquette Magazine and Bamfstyle. Sanforized and Borsarello always have a fresh perspective on vintage clothing. They both take a very personal approach to it and always grow on that each year, sharing new interests and cool ways to outfit it in the modern world. Gauthier works on L’Etiquette Magazine, and that’s a place I go to for new ways to style clothes. Bamfstyle combines my two interests of fashion and film, often inspiring me to watch some obscure movie.
Colin Shields: I use Instagram for many things. Keeping up with friends who I don’t see on a regular basis, shopping, inspiration, memes, basically everything. There are a lot of very inspiring pages that I follow there. Some of my favorites are @hauteville_paris @tat.london @lagunavintage @thecartelier_ @press_sf @sinot.clothing @recollection_tokyo, to name a few.
Grayson Thornberry: I love @maisonhomme__ @beau_traps @sophiepinet @dotpebbles_knits @lostfoundartny. I use Instagram a lot for design reference work. There are some stores I follow that have great vintage. However, I also really love a meme or ‘brainrot’. Colin and Albert can attest to that.
Could you pick 2-3 of your favorite images you recently posted, and tell me why you like and decided to post them?
Albert Johnson: I feel like all three of these describe the various ways I find photos for the page. First is the flip flop photo. I was on a trip in Captive Island in Florida and I was getting really into all the shell hunting I was doing each day. This photo was of my early morning finds displayed on my favorite leather flops.
The second one is of the founders of Jansport and is about as 70s as can be. I’ve been really inspired by early outdoors gear after digging into the history of the pioneering brands, so my Pinterest has been feeding me some related images for a bit.
The third photo is an Andy Warhol of Dennis Hopper. I’m obsesses with film, especially from the 70s, so I started watching most of Dennis Hopper’s early work a few months ago and found his style to be so cool. Of course, makes it even cooler that that this is an Andy Warhol print.
Colin Shields: I posted his first image in early January. Often, I will post images of spaces that inspire me or that I feel some kind of connection to. In this case, it is simply a photo of a place I would have rather been at the time. New York in early January was very cold and windy. I couldn’t think of anything better than a room fully upholstered in fur with a roaring fireplace.
This second image was posted because the man in the image is one of my favorite photographers, Saul Leiter. While I love the way he’s dressed and the colors of the image, the fact that he was a photographer known for his photos from the 40s and 50s, yet he is seen here taking a selfie with a digital point and shoot is very funny to me.
The third image I posted because it reminds me of my family homes that I grew up in. A grand mix of furniture and decorative styles with some rather unexpected choices, but all comes together feeling quite classical. This is comforting to me. Besides, I also think it’s a nicely framed photo.
Grayson Thornberry: I love this image a lot. I feel like much of what I post is inspired by finding sensibility in ordinary subjects. In this case, a cup of black coffee is something that is enjoyed daily by the majority. Despite being a common ritual, it almost feels like a luxury. Paired with a very good cup and plate, as well as the contrast of lipstick, I find this to be a very comforting photo.
I have a deep appreciation for love, wear, and utility. All of these traits are depicted perfectly in this second image, of a beautiful staircase which has seen the same feet time and time again.
I really like to post things that can be seen as humorous or whimsical. This one [cat with oranges, above] is great, because of the color. The stark white bag under the black fur of the mischievous little fella is such a nice contrast to the pretty color of the oranges.