By Loretta Gillespie
The Cullman Times
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Garlan Gudger grew up surrounded by a collection of the finest architectural antiques, stained glass, multi-faceted chandeliers, and artwork in the Southeast.
His parents, Dr. and Mrs. Garlan Gudger Sr., established Southern Accents in 1969, as a way to supplement the salaries from their teaching careers. For years they put everything they had back into the business, sometimes wondering if they had made the right decision. Last month Southern Living Magazine named it one of the four best architectural salvage businesses in the United States. It seems as if they did, indeed, make a wise investment.
They raised three children while working in their shop on Second Avenue in downtown Cullman, Alabama. Garlan Gudger Jr. remembers skating among elaborate antique mantles, one-of-a-kind leaded glass windows and ornately crowned, towering columns. “I had a pair of those adjustable Superman skates, and I whizzed around in here all the time,” he laughed.
He outgrew his Superman skates and went off to college, earning his degree in Building Science from Auburn University. He did his internship on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, where he worked for the Library of Congress. His team’s assignment was to blueprint and diagram Brant Point lighthouse, the second oldest lighthouse in the nation. The information was archived in Washington, D.C. for use in rebuilding if the historic lighthouse should ever be damaged or destroyed by a hurricane.
For a while Garlan traveled and worked doing major construction jobs, but one day he made a life-changing decision. Dr. Gudger Sr.’s health had finally forced him into retirement. Garlan took over the family business and is now the President of Southern Accents Corporation. Southern Accents counts among its extensive client list such well known names as sports figures, Eli Manning and Pat Dye, country singer, Marti Stewart, former congressman Bud Cramer, Judge Roy Moore, actor, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mother Angelica. Southern Accents accouterments were featured in the movies, Billy Gillman, Tom Sawyer, Ty Cobb, and Big Fish, and even as backdrops for some country music videos. It has also been featured in such distinguished publications as Veranda, Southern Living, Costal Living, Culture and Leisure, and ALIVE. It was almost inevitable that someday top men’s fashion designer Billy Reid would find out about this treasure trove of heirloom architectural antiques in Cullman.
Reid first visited the store in 2004. He heard of Southern Accents from a friend who was remodeling his home. “I took a trip to Cullman one day and met with Garlan,” Reid recalled. “We hit it off right away. Garlan has a great eye.” Since then, Reid’s shops in New York, Florence, Dallas, Nashville, and Charleston, have all included defining touches from Southern Accents.
Reid was named “Best New Menswear Designer of the Year” by GQ Magazine. He recently came to Cullman looking for some Southern “accents” for to his spring fashion show in New York.
When he first conceived the idea of introducing his native culture to haute couture, he had visions of an old mansion. The logistics and time restraints were such that the concept was impossible, so he and Garlan Gudger put their heads together and worked out a design the likes of which New Yorkers had never seen on a fashion runway. For one thing — there was no runway. After wandering around in the labyrinth of rooms at Southern Accents, Reid conceived a set design that was totally off the charts. He explained to Gudger the look he was after, and then allowed Garlan to handpick the architectural pieces that were used to construct this exclusive design. Not only did Garlan Jr. personally choose the material to match Reid’s vision, but he was commissioned to make the trip to NYC: Fashion Week to help set up the backdrop in conjunction with Reid’s carpentry and lightning teams.
“We worked non-stop on the plans for two weeks,” said Gudger. “Then we had to erect the whole thing in one day.”
Following Reid’s plan, he executed the installation of a set so mysteriously haunting and intriguing that it will most likely raise the bar on set designs for years to come. Reminiscent of Clarence John Laughlin’s architectural photographs of the South in the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s, the set brought to mind a nostalgic yearning for things long lost in our heritage. The backdrop, which looked deceptively simple, was actually a complex maze of antique and vintage doors — hung sideways, upside down and at right and left angles. Lighting was crucial. Shadows added a realistic depth to the overall effect. (Think, “Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte,” or “Grey Gardens” sans the distraction of furniture and ornate draperies). The result was visually stunning, a totally revolutionary departure from the normal glitzy, over-done stages — and it left the audience in awe. No smudged-eyed, swaggering, side-stepping, chain-swaddled models here. For the most part, Reid’s clean-cut lines were worn by guys that resembled the boy next door. Billy Reid dresses men like women wish men would dress. A little funky, a lot Southern casual, a down-scaled, “up-scale” if you will. When the models walked out the crowd didn’t have to stand to give them an ovation — they were already standing. “There were no chairs, everyone stood around the extended stage,” explained Gudger.
The set that Reid and Gudger invented was much like an evolving play where the characters moved with ease from one station to another, flowing fluidly into position as if by chance.
“It was a collection of miscellaneous, architecturally unique doors, artfully assembled in a random pattern,” described Gudger. “Instead of coming out one at a time, then leaving the stage, these models moved from one distressed door to another, moving up one space as the next model made his entrance,” he explained. The effect was natural-like people moving around in a room. They wore Reid’s Spring 2011 collection, designed for comfort and practicality, with a certain understated flair.
New York fashion mavens had never seen the likes of either the set or the clothes. “Billy Reid is a quintessential Southern gentleman, but very down-to-earth, and laid back,” described Kolby Lawrence, manager of Southern Accents. That assessment pretty much sums up the set he designed, too.
“When you meet Billy Reid for the time, the thing that comes to mind is what a natural, genuine person he is. He exudes patience and true humbleness,” said Gudger.
In fact, Reid’s roots are in the Deep South. He hails from New Orleans, and it shows. Soft spoken, his dark hair casually tumbling over his forehead, and his manner courtly, Reid has taken the South to the North, making them sit up and take notice. The night of the show, no one knew quite what to expect from Reid. Anticipation mounted when the first of the paparazzi entered the room, whispers circulated among even the most seasoned of the fashion elite. “What is this?” they wondered aloud. What they saw was Reid’s genius and Gudger’s skill, meshed into what looked like the inside of an abandoned Southern mansion. Tall door paneled walls, mis-matched free-standing doors, abandoned columns, haphazardly strewn across the floorboards, which were made of circular sawn lumber. The wood floors were salvaged from a church in Shelbyville, Tenn., circa 1887. The backdrop was done in different colors, textures, and panels of rustic wood.
Rumor has it that all the major players of the fashion world were on hand. Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue magazine, was backstage checking out the collection before the show started. Normally, Wintour doesn’t show up unless the designer is extraordinarily talented — which Reid definitely is. (Wintour, is by all accounts the inspiration for Meryl Streep’s character in the wildly popular hit movie, “The Devil Wears Prada.”)
Reid had Gudger sporting one of his relaxed, informal, signature styles for the debut. Gudger looked right at home — his rugged good-looks complementing the simple lines of the jacket and trousers. “I’d never experienced anything quite like that,” said Gudger. “I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of something so extraordinary.” For Reid, the show was a huge success. The reviews were quite favorable -to say the least. “We’ve received a great response, people can’t believe we actually trucked all the materials to New York,” laughed an appreciative Reid. “I think we will always be who we are, and remain true to our Southern heritage. Even though we try to do something new each time, we’ll always strive to remain true to our image.” As for Garlan Gudger, it was back to the real world here in Cullman, which suited him just fine.
