Robert Massimo Freda

Robert Massimo Freda
by Bart Boehlert
(Page 2)

"All guys want to be cool," he continues. "And the coolest cultures are Australian, English, American and Irish because they are true sports cultures. There is a full range of sports and a toughness to it." Freda mentions the feeling of the gridiron and the charge of the light brigade, and segues into the Korean War story about American and English soldiers in their display of "crazy nutso bravery."
One realizes that Freda has a streak of that toughness in himself as he describes breaking his nose playing hockey in Rye, New York one month ago. He collided with another player and his helmet came down and smashed his nose flat against his face. Freda has played hockey since he was a kid. "I was always really competitive," he says. "If there was one really good kid on the other team, I'd play against him."
Freda's competitive nature is well placed now that he's slugging it out in the fashion business. He grew up in swanky Brookline, Massachusetts, and studied film at the Rhode Island School of Design before he was kicked out for taking time off to work on a fashion show. Freda started his menswear line two years ago and now has three other partners. He works day and night to move his enterprise forward. "Last week, I was up until 3 a.m. two nights and 4 a.m. two nights working on a presentation for a backer," reports the designer.
It turns out that Freda sleeps here in his showroom, behind the closed door. In a display of true commitment, he gave up his apartment. "I bought a futon for here and shipped my bed back to Boston," he says simply. "It's hardly a glamorous life but hopefully it will pay off."