Philadelphia fashion designer Nigel Richards launched his first clothing company during his freshman year of college. Along with his two best friends and business partners, he designed University of Rochester–branded T-shirts and sweatshirts for special-interest groups and Greek life. Though short-lived—the company folded when Richards and his friends graduated—R.A.D. Enterprises was a hit with fellow students and faculty: Within three days of launching, they sold every piece of clothing they had; within two years, the label was an official vendor of the university. “We were scared to death because it cost $800,” laughs Richards, who is sitting at the conference-room table in his Northern Liberties office. “But we sold everything and had more money than we’d ever made in a weekend.”
Two decades later, Richards is comfortably immersed in every aspect of his growing 611 Lifestyle clothing brand. It is a name familiar to Philadelphians of a certain age: From 1993 to 2007, his 611 Records was a South Street staple, a destination for house-music fans to score hard-to-find dance tracks and face time with a then globe-trotting Richards, whose career as a DJ took him—and his store-branded logo tees—from LA to Malaysia.
