A head of flouncy curls made Billy Willis easy to spot as he was strolling through London on a Saturday in March. Mr. Willis’s hair, along with his layers of loose pleats in cool tones, gave him an elegantly refined flow.
While describing his ensemble, he confirmed what I had thought upon seeing it: that the clothing was all Issey Miyake (specifically, from the brand’s Homme Plissé line). It turned out that Mr. Willis, 21, worked at a nearby Issey Miyake store and was on a break when we met. But he was a fan of the label and its eponymous Japanese designer long before he got the job about a year and a half ago.
“I got my first piece at 14 from a friend who was buying some pieces from the ’90s,” Mr. Willis said. He added that his sartorial inspirations included people he described as “accidentally well dressed” or, as he put it, those who “have no intention of being fashionable.”
“They have just found a style that works for them and developed it throughout their life, which often leads to their clothes telling interesting stories,” he said. As for his hair, he explained that he started growing it out seven years ago when he was looking for ways to style his thick, fuzzy curls. “It just stuck ever since,” Mr. Willis said, “and I think the style unintentionally guided how my way of dressing has developed. And it keeps my ears warm in winter!”
