Timmy Lee Was Born to Stand Out — Now He’s Building His Own Runway

Written by: Greg Lewis

Published on August 20, 2026, 8:45p.m. EST

From teaching himself to design by taking clothes apart to creating looks for major artists, Timmy Williams has spent years making sure his work commands attention.

Timmy Lee

Now, with “Timmy Lee’s Next Top Model,” the designer is betting on himself—and creating a platform for the next generation in the process.

For Timmy Williams, fashion didn’t begin beneath the bright lights of a runway. It didn’t begin with a celebrity client, a viral design or even a sewing machine.

It started in poverty.

Growing up in Kenner, Louisiana, Williams—better known creatively as TimmyLee—didn’t come from a family with endless resources.

What he did have was a mother determined to make sure her children looked good regardless of what was happening behind closed doors.

“My upbringing had its ups & downs mainly because I grew up in poverty,” Timmy tells Slums Magazine.

“My family didn’t have much but they always made a way! One thing about Dion, my mama, she kept her kids in a fresh outfit! So even before I understood fashion I was already in it!”

Looking back, those early experiences almost feel prophetic.

Today, the 29-year-old designer has transformed that childhood fascination with clothes into the Timmy Lee Collection, built an increasingly recognizable aesthetic and created designs worn by entertainers including Honey Bxby, Trim and Remy Ma.

Before any of that happened, Timmy was simply a creative kid trying to figure out exactly where he belonged.

If there was one thing he knew early, it was that blending in was never going to work.

DIFFERENT FROM THE BEGINNING

Timmy remembers being fascinated by Lady Gaga, an artist whose career became synonymous with refusing to play it safe visually.

“Lady Gaga was my fav artist & I loved how crazy she dressed,” he recalls. “She was different & I felt I was different!”

Timmy Lee

At first, he imagined that creativity taking him somewhere else entirely. Maybe dancing—something he confidently says he can “dance my ass off”—or perhaps styling. As a teenager, he was already putting looks together for his mother and sister.

Then came seventh grade.

A home economics class introduced Timmy to something that would completely shift the trajectory of his life: a sewing machine.

The assignment was relatively simple. The students made a pillow and pajamas.

For Timmy, it was revolutionary.

“I gagged that I actually could wear them,” he says. “I didn’t think humans made clothes. I just thought machines did.”

It would be roughly two years before Timmy received a sewing machine of his own. By then, his family had moved to Atlanta, and his curiosity had turned into something much bigger.

That was the beginning of TimmyLee.

While some designers enter the industry through prestigious fashion schools and formal apprenticeships, Timmy’s education became much more hands-on. Outside of the fundamentals he learned in junior high school, he largely taught himself.

“Everything after that I taught myself or watched a YouTube video,” he explains. “I used to take clothes apart and try to put them back together.”

Piece by piece, mistake by mistake and garment by garment, he learned.

That willingness to experiment still sits at the center of his creativity today.

#ALWAYSSTANDOUT

Timmy Lee

Ask Timmy to describe the Timmy Lee Collection aesthetic and he doesn’t need an elaborate fashion-school explanation.

“Fab.”

It’s a simple word, but the philosophy behind it is much bigger.

His motto is #AlwaysStandOut, something that feels less like a marketing slogan and more like a summary of the designer himself.

“I stood out my whole life & my work reflects that,” he says. “Anytime you see a TimmyLee piece you’re always gonna wonder, ‘Who made that?’ I like bold pieces that start a conversation when you walk into a room.”

That philosophy is visible in a creative identity Timmy refuses to box in.

Fashion may be the foundation, but designing clothes is hardly the extent of his abilities. Timmy describes himself as an all-around creative who can do hair, makeup, dance, build, decorate, design and creative direct.

And unlike designers who build their entire identity around one permanent aesthetic, Timmy allows his brand to move with him.

“Everything inspires me,” he says. “I started off just making what I thought was popular/trendy to make money but now I design with intentions!”

His personal style changes frequently, and he admits that his brand sometimes changes along with it.

Maybe, he jokes, that’s the Libra in him.

“Maybe that’s a bad thing but it works for me!”

There’s freedom in that approach.

Instead of obsessing over whether every creation will be universally accepted, Timmy has learned that his responsibility is to create work he believes in and allow the right audience to find it.

That mindset extends to misconceptions about both the designer and the man behind the clothes.

“People think I mean or stuck up, when in reality I’m the nicest person ever!” he says. “I am very stern & strict tho so I get it.”

When it comes to criticism of the brand itself, however, he has little interest in convincing people to change their minds.

“I love what I do & peoples opinions will never change that,” Timmy says. “So what if people might not like it, I do & that’s all that matters!”

I design for the people who like what I do not the ones who don’t!”

In an industry often driven by approval, virality and public perception, that confidence may be one of his greatest assets.

FROM THE SEWING MACHINE TO CELEBRITY LOOKS

The work eventually began reaching far beyond Timmy’s immediate circle.

Through stylist Todd, Timmy has had opportunities to create for major talent, including Honey Bxby, Trim and hip-hop heavyweight Remy Ma.

Artist: Trim / designer: Timmy Lee

“I’m so grateful for Todd cause he really be putting me on!” Timmy says.

There is, however, one catch.

“Now he may call me 5 seconds before they need it, but I make sure I get it done.”

The statement is funny, but the pressure behind it is real.

Celebrity fashion operates at a notoriously fast pace, and Timmy says many of the looks audiences see on artists were created under turnaround times that would intimidate even experienced designers.

“Artists are always last minute so most of these looks you see me making happens with 1/2 days if that!” he reveals. “Some of them I made in a few hours!”

He may not have personal relationships with every celebrity wearing his work, but seeing his designs displayed on larger platforms carries a significance he doesn’t take lightly.

“This was my dream & i’m living in it!” he says.

“Working with artist always pushes me cause your work is being displayed in front of the world!”

With increased visibility can come another type of pressure: the expectation that every new creation must outperform the last.

Timmy used to think that way.

Not anymore.

“We don’t have control over what hits or not,” he explains. “I put my art out into the world & hope that it finds the people who love it just as much as I do!”

That doesn’t mean he has stopped pushing himself. Quite the opposite.

“Do I challenge myself to get better? Yes absolutely,” he adds. “If I’m going to take over the world I need to be the best!”

And his next challenge may be his biggest yet.

TIMMY LEE’S NEXT TOP MODEL

Timmy Lee

For years, Timmy participated in fashion shows where multiple designers shared the same runway.

But his vision was always larger.

He grew up watching Victoria’s Secret runway shows, Paris Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week.

Those productions shaped his perception of what a fashion show could—and should—feel like.

Eventually, participating in someone else’s production stopped being enough.

“I always wanted to do a show all by myself,” he says.

After roughly three shows, Timmy had made up his mind: if he returned to the runway, he wanted the moment to belong completely to his own vision.

That idea became “Timmy Lee’s Next Top Model.”

But the timing behind the project carries a much deeper story.

Timmy says the decision to finally move forward came after emerging from what he describes as a “nasty depression.”

Something inside him told him to create.

For years, he had been waiting for the perfect circumstances—the right resources, the right moment, the feeling that everything was finally in place.

That moment never came.

Instead, faith intervened.

“I always told myself to wait till I got it all together but God said the time is now!” Timmy says.

So he listened.

The undertaking has required support from the people around him, and Timmy is quick to acknowledge those helping turn the idea into reality.

“S/o to all my friends & family who been helping me,” he says. “This shit not easy.”

What happened next, however, proved that perhaps the timing really was right.

500 RSVPs AND A MUCH-NEEDED REMINDER

Timmy initially kept his expectations modest.

For a first-time independently produced fashion experience, he thought attracting 30 to 80 RSVPs would be a victory.

Timmy Lee

Then the first flyer dropped.

The response was almost immediate.

“My very first flyer went viral so fast I got 100 RSVPs in 24hrs,” he recalls.

By the following morning, there were more than 100 RSVPs and over 50 direct messages from models around the world asking whether virtual casting would be available.

Eventually, the response climbed to approximately 500 RSVPs.

Timmy cried.

“I probably cried everyday since then cause I’m really blessed man,” he admits.

For someone who has spent years creating, sewing, learning and attempting to carve out his own lane, the numbers represented more than people wanting to attend a fashion show.

They represented validation at a moment when he needed it most.

“This was what I need,” Timmy says, “a reminder that I do have a place in this industry.”

That may ultimately be the bigger story behind Timmy Lee’s Next Top Model.

Yes, it is about clothes.

Yes, it is about models.

Yes, there will be judges, competition, cameras and a winner.

But underneath the spectacle is a designer proving to himself that his vision deserves enough space to exist on its own.

BUILDING SOMETHING BIGGER

Timmy Lee

Timmy’s vision for the project already extends beyond one runway.

He originally envisioned Timmy Lee’s Next Top Model becoming a full competition series on YouTube, allowing audiences to follow the models, personalities, drama and process surrounding the production.

For the first cycle, however, he’s being realistic about what can be accomplished independently.

“I want to create like a competition show series but it’s gonna have to wait until cycle 2 cause I don’t have the backing right now to produce it!” he explains.

Cameras will still be rolling.

Instead of a fully produced competition series, viewers can expect more of a vlog-style look behind the scenes of the inaugural event.

As for the bigger ideas?

Timmy is keeping those close.

“I don’t wanna give too much details yet cause y'all know the girls love to steal ideas!”

One thing he isn’t secretive about is the importance of the people helping him judge the competition.

Timmy says selecting the judges was actually the easiest part of producing the entire show because he chose people he already knows personally and respects professionally.

“They all have a different take on fashion & everybody is killing it in their own domain,” he says.

More importantly, he wanted judges who would respect the opportunity enough to take the competition as seriously as he does.

“These people are well educated in their perspective fields,” Timmy explains. “We are the voice of the next supremes!”

MORE THAN A CROWN

Timmy Lee

For the models competing, there’s real opportunity attached to winning.

The current prize package includes $500, a magazine cover with Slums Magazine, a custom TimmyLee birthday look and a complimentary photoshoot, with Timmy noting that additional prizes could potentially be added.

But he believes the value of winning extends beyond anything that can be placed inside a prize package.

“Winning this competition can change the right persons life if they take advantage of the winnings & opportunity,” he says. “This can potentially land model brand collabs & maybe get signed!”

For an aspiring model waiting for that one photograph, connection, credit or opportunity to push their career forward, Timmy understands what visibility can mean.

“It’s every models dream to be on the cover of magazines & I'm here to put the best on the cover!”

Still, he doesn’t want contestants walking away believing their success can only be measured by whether a crown ends up on their head.

He wants them to see their progress.

“I hope they see the growth from where they started to where they are at the finish line,” he says. “I hope that they feel fulfillment in what they put so much time & effort into!”

It’s fitting advice coming from Timmy.

Long before celebrity placements and hundreds of RSVPs, there was a kid sitting in a home economics class, shocked that something he made with his own hands could actually be worn.

There was a teenager taking clothes apart just to figure out how to put them back together.

There was a young creative watching Lady Gaga embrace being different and recognizing a piece of himself in that fearlessness.

There was poverty. There were dreams. There was Atlanta. There were YouTube tutorials, last-minute celebrity deadlines, fashion shows and moments of doubt.

There was even a period when depression could have convinced him that now wasn’t the time.

However, Timmy Williams kept creating.

Now, the kid who once thought machines were responsible for making clothes is preparing to put an entire fashion experience on his own shoulders.

Perhaps the most important part of the TimmyLee story isn’t that he finally found a way to stand out.

It’s that he realized he always did.