By Je’Don Holloway-Talley | For The Birmingham Times
Growing up in the Westchester neighborhood of Forestdale, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham, Melvin Jefferson, founder and owner of the Ralpheal Renee Inc. menswear brand didn’t have to look far for classic fashionwear.
“My dad was a [certified public accountant (CPA)] for Alabama Power, [and] he always wore suits from Brooks Brothers, [one of the oldest clothing brands in the United States],” Jefferson remembered. “He taught us how to crease trousers and cuff our own pants — and he’d do it by hand. That precision stayed with him, and I think it was passed down to me.”
“My mom always got us long cashmere coats during the fall,” continued Jefferson, who has two siblings: Malcolm and Monique Jefferson. “My mom always loved leather, furs, pearls, diamonds. … She had this red leather suit that she would wear during the fall. … [My mom] definitely was the flair in the family. My dad was more of the conservative touch, but mom added that taste level.”
Jefferson’s family would attend the Westchester Ball, an event that was held at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC), he recalled: “I remember my mom and dad buying the tuxedos, and my mom going to get the gowns. … [The ball] was just full of beautiful Black people, and they were all dressed to the nines. They were the definition of Black elegance.”
Those evenings made an impression, he said. “These were men who looked like me. They weren’t famous, but they had a presence. They dressed well. They lived well. They made me believe I could, too.”
The Ralpheal Renee menswear brand, which he has helmed since 2019, is rooted in luxury, culture, and intention. Its garments are crafted using Japanese and Italian silks, linen, and wool blends. And the collection is produced in small batches to ensure exclusivity and quality over quantity, he said.
A Doctor in the House
Jeffersons’s early fascination with clothing was shaped by his parents, neighbors, and fellow church members at Hopewell African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Birmingham’s Kingston community, all of whom were part of the city’s Black middle class.
Whether with family or attending school, his sense of fashion was always evident. By the time he reached Putnam Middle School in Birmingham, he would experiment with his school uniform, adding sweater vests and styling pieces from clothing brands like Banana Republic and the now-defunct Structure. Even the school’s principal took notice.
“He’d say, ‘Jefferson, you’re out of uniform, but, boy, you look good,’” the designer laughed.
As a teenager, Jefferson became enthralled with the world of high fashion through magazines like GQ and The Rake, as well as Esquire and its Big Black Book, which is considered a guide for style and luxury. Unable to afford the garments he saw on glossy pages, he turned to Birmingham’s thrift stores.
“I got into thrifting really heavy,” he said. “That opened the door to me gaining access to a lot of brands I’d see in publications. People would donate to the thrift stores in upper echelon neighborhoods.”
Jefferson graduated from G.W. Carver High School and attended Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU), where he studied pre-med and chemistry because he aspired to “become a doctor, a lawyer, a financial person, an engineer, or whatever.”
“I went to school for pre-med and chemistry. … I wanted to go to pharmacy school,” he said, adding that he credits his wife of seven years, Letisha Jefferson, now a medical doctor, for helping to steer him toward his current path.
“When we met [in June 2006], I told [my wife] I wanted to go to pharmacy school, [which was] kind of just living out the dream of what my parents wanted me to do. She was like, ‘Babe, that ain’t what you wanna do.’ She knew it. I knew it. And I credit her for opening me up and pushing me to do what I do now and helping me become very confident in it,” said Jefferson.
The couple got married in 2018 and now share a 2-year-old daughter, Zoé Renee Jefferson.
His first business venture, Classic Sophistication, launched in 2006 with his brother Malcolm. The brothers created a curated online resale boutique that was stocked with designer pieces they collected from thrift shops, cleaned and tailored, and resold online.
As for the name of his brand, Ralpheal Renee, it is derived from both Melvin and Letisha’s middle names. “It just has a really natural flow to it,” he said.
The Tutelage of a Tailor
Jefferson, 39, learned garment construction and tailoring under Sonya Faye Gardner, the revered Birmingham tailor and owner of Sonya Faye’s Tailor and Clothier, located in the city’s Historic 4th Avenue Black Business District.
“She would let me take the garments I found from thrifting and help me tailor them,” Jefferson recalled. “One of the first things she had me do was take apart a garment so I could understand how it was made, how it was constructed, how the seams came together, and how it was finished. She told me, ‘If you can take it apart and put it back together, you can make anything.’ That stuck with me.”
His first personal styling client was longtime friend John “Yung Vokalz” Bell, a local soul-singer and live performer.
“He was performing every Saturday night at Martini’s, [a nightclub in Hoover, Alabama, which is no longer standing], and I styled him week after week. … He loved it so much that my wife even called him my ‘hype man.’ That was the catalyst [for my personal styling career],” Jefferson said.
The rule of thumb Gardner drilled into Jefferson was “measure twice, cut once,” which still governs the way he approaches every design and fitting.
“When I’m fitting a client, I really take my time,” he said. “I have to look at the person’s body in the garment and determine what alterations need to be made — nip the waist, tuck the shoulders, shorten the sleeves, … like, if they have a lower shoulder or if they have longer arms. … It can’t be a rushed process.”
Legacy in the Lining
The Forestdale native, who now resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, travels internationally to destinations like Italy and Japan to source for himself, as well as curate for Rosenblum’s, a 127-year-old clothier in Jacksonville, Florida, for which he serves full-time as a buyer and stylist.
In June, Jefferson spent a week in Florence, Italy, attending Pitti Uomo, one of the most influential men’s fashion trade shows in the world.
“[Pitti Uomo] is pretty much a meeting of the minds,” said Jefferson. “Guys from all over the world who are the best at what they do meet up in Florence for four days. … We go to a convention center and look at what the different brands are presenting, what the different colors are for the season, and what different fabrications being presented.”
With Jefferson’s next collection, he said, “You’ll see a lot of inspiration from my high school days, college, on up to now. I’m featuring a polo first, then a trouser, a suit, a tuxedo, and a couple of other casual pieces, as well.”
Jefferson isn’t just designing clothing — he’s curating his legacy.
“It’s not so much that I just want to make clothing, but [rather] how I’m adding to the world. It’s about what type of mark and what type of legacy I want to leave when I leave [earth],” Jefferson said. “I think I’ve figured out my ‘why.’ My ‘why’ is to serve through what I do with clothing. … I get to brighten up days. I get to put smiles on faces.”
To find out more about Melvin Jefferson and the Ralpheal Renee clothing line, visit officialralphealrenee.com. You can also follow on Instagram and Facebook.
