From Greensboro to Garment District

Feb 1, 2026

Photography by Yeongwoo Jung.

The energy was already warm when I walked into Timothy Glass’s apartment in Sunset Park. He and his friend and photographer, Yeongwoo, were parked on the couch watching No Reservations, an old Anthony Bourdain episode humming low in the background. Makes sense. Timothy told me he loves Bourdain, not just for the food, but for how he moved through life in a curious, grounded, and human manner. We were sitting there in the calm of Sunset Park, one of the quieter neighborhoods in Brooklyn. It felt like the right kind of starting point. We ended up talking for an hour before we even hit record—about moving from NC to NYC, fumbling through jobs and rent, how the hustle still feels worth it, and what it means to slowly settle in.

Timothy’s originally from Greensboro, North Carolina. He moved to New York a little over a year ago to pursue NOVEMBER, his clothing brand—though “brand” feels like a small word for something that’s more of an ongoing self-portrait. “If I had to describe November,” he told me, “it would literally just be me.”

The name itself, November, comes from a short film he made when he was 13. The full phrase—November I Still Love You—appears in some corners of his marketing and is quietly tucked into the about page on his site. “It started with that film,” he said. “A kid meets a girl in November, they have a great time together, and never see each other again.” That story came from real life, and even though he laughed calling it cheesy, it’s stayed with him. “Now it plays into everything.”

He used to stamp “November” on his paintings when he was a kid. He started painting seriously around 14, sewing even earlier. But the brand itself—cut-and-sew, wearable, fully-formed—didn’t arrive until much later, around February 2024. That first drop was the Black Bull Denim trousers, wide-fitting and rugged. Since then, the line has slowly built out. His process is hands-on, deeply personal, and often sparked by necessity—like the HOBUCKIN trousers, made with pinstriped front pockets placed outward to avoid ripping while skating, or the JACQUARD-CYCLER pants with adjustable ankle straps for biking.

By the time commissions started coming in last summer, he was doing everything—from marketing NOVEMBER territory throughout the city to making full video campaigns. “Sometimes I want the clothes to be secondary,” he told me. “I love making the videos more.” The campaign for his pleated poplin shorts, for instance—a promo titled Another Sport featuring his brother and mother—is probably his favorite thing he’s made under the November name. “My grandma watched it and said, ‘I liked it, but I couldn’t see the shorts,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, but it’s still cool.’”

November releases now live both online and in-person through Free Agency, a Lower East Side curator that carries a small circle of emerging designers. Timothy told me his relationship with Free Agency’s founder, Shaul, gave him the chance to see his clothes in a physical space among likeminded creators, which felt like a big milestone for himself and NOVEMBER.

But it wasn’t always so clear. He talked a lot about the time he spent at App State, where he first studied studio art, then switched to apparel design. “Watching the senior showcase... I realized I shouldn’t be here.” He had never planned on college—only applied because everyone else was. He didn’t feel connected to the work, and that disconnection chipped away at his passion. But leaving school sparked something. “Out of that self-hatred,” he said, “I found a new love for being Black.”

A lot of his work is rooted in that love, and in healing. “Growing up, I’d been taught things that made me hate myself—my lips, my nose, the way I spoke. College broke me down. I had no one there, away from my family.” November became a rebuild. A place to hold all the things he loved: photography, music, clothing, identity. A space to process and share.

“I don’t really pull from other fashion brands,” he told me, when I asked about design influences. “More from film, authors, music.” He name-dropped Grace Wales Bonner, Martine Rose, and McQueen, but also talked about how books like Giovanni’s Room and films like Portrait of a Lady on Fire have affected him more. “Seeing people talk passionately about what inspires them makes me want to do the same.”

That shows up in how the brand feels—loose and specific at once. The stickers, phrases, world building. I asked him about “Southern Disko,” a recurring anecdote that personally sticks out to me when thinking NOVEMBER. “A lot of people don’t notice that,” he said, smiling. “It came from my love for electronic music. I used to DJ drag shows full-time.” That space, he said, let him feel like himself. “I realized I wasn’t running from the South—I loved it. Southern Disko was the perfect blend.” The ‘k’ in disko, by the way, is a nod to Stereolab.

Right now, Timothy’s portfolio for NOVEMBER stands:

But he’s not necessarily trying to run a clothing brand forever. “Clothing might be the first thing to go,” he admitted. “I hate the feeling of being worth whatever people are willing to buy that month. Painting doesn’t feel like that. Neither does video. If I paint or shoot something I love, I don’t care if anyone sees it.”

Even still, he’s not planning on slowing down. “Long-term, I want a flagship store. A real fashion show, full production. I want to make a movie, an album—so much. But day to day, I’m content. Even if no one sees me, I’d still be doing this.”

Before we wrapped, I asked him what he’d tell someone trying to start their own thing. His answer was simple: “Just don’t stop. Find something you’re passionate about and run with it.” Then he paused and repeated something his friend Yeongwoo once said—“It’s like a warm place on the chest that spreads through your body. Like walking outside on the first warm day after winter.” That’s what it feels like for him to create.

And that’s what November is, at least for now.

Originally published in September of 2025. You can find this article in our first issue linked here.

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