Remember the time when Myspace was the go-to social media platform? Most of those who swore by Hip-Hop were listening to Young Jeezy, T.I, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, Eminem, and Jay-Z. Music was reaching more youthful audiences thanks to the iPod – or MP3 player of choice and LimeWire, aka the gateway to free music.

Noah Thomas, who was born in Georgia and grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, was raised with the sounds of Kanye, Pharrell, and Lupe in an era sartorially defined by colorful glasses with no lenses, BAPE sneakers, and popped collars. In 2007, while still in middle school, Noah, who had wanted to be a professional basketball player or a chef, discovered fashion and wanted to pursue menswear design at Fashion Institute of Technology. After seeing two particular films, The Devil Wears Prada and Valentino: The Last Emperor; he left the hoop and kitchen dreams behind. Internships at Rick Owens and Vogue Australia and a stint at Marni further solidified his ambition for a career in fashion. Today, Thomas is the Associate Fashion Director of Menswear at Macy’s, a position he hopes to one day use to fulfill his ultimate goal.

Have you seen the 2002 movie Brown Sugar before?

Yes, of course!

Okay great. I was holding my breath. When did you first fall in love with menswear?

During the middle of my sixth-grade year. For its “Man of the Year” issue, GQ Magazine did an interview with Kanye, who spoke about the blogs he’d read. I only talked to people about Kanye if they were hip to the Kanye West University blog because you missed out on his coolest era if you weren’t.

Don C, IBN Jasper, Ferris Bueller, BBC and Ice Cream all had blogs back when I was a pre-teen. Hypebeast, Highsnobiety, Selectism, and Street Etiquette, were still in their infancy. We all wanted Chanel to make a cool T-shirt or sneaker, but they wouldn’t. Gucci jeans didn’t fit right, and every high-end brand that designed T-shirts made them weird and tight. This was when Rick Owens dropped his Geobasket sneaker, Raf Simons’ quirky two-strap sneakers came out, Y3 had become the brand, and Riccardo Tisci just got the job at Givenchy. That was when!

You were working toward earning an Associate Degree in menswear design from FIT. What happened, and what were your plans?

I have always wanted to design men’s clothing, which is still my dream. In high school, I was a “C” student. In college, I became dissatisfied with the liberal classes required of us, such as math and history – I had a hard time focusing back then. The menswear program at FIT was extremely rigorous. Because the program was only intended for an AA degree, they compressed what appeared to be four years of work into two. I was told not to get a girlfriend, a job, or an internship, and surprise; I got all three. Unfortunately, the university dismissed me before my final semester because of my poor performance.

I want it to be clear that I value education and respect it; however, another factor that contributed to my dismissal from school was the fact that, at that point in my life, I was absolutely devoted to gaining real-world experience. The truth is that I was unable to comprehend the idea of obtaining an internship only during the final semester; that was the policy of FIT at that time. I prioritized my real-world experiences and opportunities over my schoolwork because I found their policy silly. In the end, it worked out because those choices helped me prepare for my life today.

If you could, which period of men’s fashion outside the 1980s and 1990s would you bring back?

I still enjoy watching movies from the 1950s and 1960s, but 70s fashion was the peak of style. It’s the last era where style truly mattered at least to me. Those disco looks may not come back, but I’m referring to how young men would leave their homes with trousers, dress shoes, and a button-down shirt…when even your walk mattered for young men and women. In the 40s Jazz was Rap because the Jazz musicians were the rappers at one point, and no one was cooler than Miles Davis. It fascinates me because it’s crazy to think that such a sophisticated form of music with such complexity was the hip hop of its time.

What piqued your interest about working on the corporate side at Macy’s? 

It was the role at Macys and the legacy of the company mostly. This is not meant to disparage any of the other companies I have worked for because Highsnobiety was my literal dream job when I was there. I couldn’t believe I was given that opportunity after I had spent a decade straight reading their articles.

The responsibilities of a Fashion Director vary from company to company. What exactly are your duties?

I help the menswear brands we carry know what their clothes should look like for the next season. In a nutshell, my obligation is to inform the brands that “this is what we saw this season at the shows, “this is how men and young men are dressing,” and “this is what’s happening culturally and socially.” From what video games people are playing to what is going on politically, this requires much critical thinking, and I must explain how each of those ideas affects how people dress.

When I think of Macy’s, particularly in areas outside NYC, I think of a department store meant for everyone. What, if any, obstacles does this present to your position?

This brings me back to Highsnobiety because I talked about things in a “heady” way when I was there doing interviews and a podcast. For those who read this and think, “heady?,” … it means I was talking to seasoned fashion fans only. As a result, I had to come to terms with the fact that many of the fans were casual and not super invested the way me and my colleagues were. Now that I’m at Macy’s, I had to learn how to speak about everything in a way that made even the newest of fans understand where I was coming from and become palatable for all levels of fans.  It can’t be overly ethereal; I can’t be trying to sell a Dries Van Noten embellished garment for $12,000.

What do you hope you can accomplish through your role as Associate Fashion Director?

This is my first time working for a large company with so many levels. Having said that, I want to be out somewhere and overhear a conversation about our stores’ evolution and the quality of our products. You – and anyone else – can one-hundred percent walk into Macy’s right now and leave with a solid outfit, and I want to enhance that even more. My boss and I are really working to usher in more for that kid that wants fear of god but might not be at the price point though and only has a Macys in their area, I’d like them to know they will enter and leave satisfied with the garments they choose and still be on par with rest of kids.

Kids are very critical of themselves and one another and I think about this a lot. It’s important that they fit in and blend when they might not be able to have the latest hottest brands on that their friends and favorite rappers might be wearing and talking about.

I noticed that you have a thing for unusual eyewear, which adds to the uniqueness of your style. How would you characterize your fashion preferences? 

Contrast is my absolute favorite thing. I enjoy applying the least amount of effort and am drawn to things that shouldn’t work. However, I also want to look good, so I like shapes. Every person should know which shapes work best for them. I wear a uniform; I might have four pants from four different brands, but they all look the same. A mule with a trouser; love. The A630 Birkenstock sandal that resembles a nurse or painter’s shoe is probably my favorite shoe on the planet; that, with a tux is everything.

What do you hope will happen next in retail, specifically in menswear?

People are shopping again and at physical locations. That’s important and exciting to me. Regarding menswear, I would like to see some formal wear. It’s thrilling to see that all the designers who emerged during the streetwear period, including Heron Preston, Jerry Lorenzo, Matthew Williams, and others, are beginning to refine their offerings. We are moving away from the exclusively casual era and moving towards something cleaner.

Which direction do you hope the universe will take you in your career?

I’m still on a journey that makes it possible for me to run a house one day. It’s a detour, but the skills I’m picking up can still lead to everything I want. I love that I’m at an establishment now that will allow me to absorb a different skillset related to business, as in the numbers side of things. It’ll keep things in check for me because, at the end of the day, we want to sell stuff.

IG: @noahnoahthomasthomas