Time A Tell Travels To LA

by Lisa Reisman

If you want to understand where fashion is trending, go to ComplexCon, a two-day event that brings together the leading brands of street fashion.

That’s according to the New York Times, and that’s where, earlier this month at the Los Angeles Convention Center, New Haven’s own Joshua McCown, the 23-year-old designer and founder of Time A Tell clothing, was occupying Booth B59, becoming the first streetwear brand from Connecticut to take part. 

With an experience described as “digesting a 300-page trend report in two hours,” ComplexCon annually brings together cutting-edge creators of fashion, sneakers, art, and music under one roof, with upwards of 70,000 teens, as well as 20- and 30-somethings, enduring long queues to sample their wares.

McCown opened his Dixwell Avenue shop not long after graduating from Hamden High in 2021, gaining distinction as the state’s youngest business owner. Since then, his color-saturated gear jam-packed with logos and slogans has been showing up throughout New Haven and across the globe, as well as on the concert stages and in the music videos and social media of celebrated rap artists. 

Back at his Dixwell Avenue shop. Credit: Lisa Reisman photo

“Very inspiring,” said the mildly jet-lagged 2025 Freddy Fixer Business Award honoree on a recent afternoon back at his headquarters.“It felt good just to breathe in that motivational air.” 

Along with brisk sales of his merch — McCown reported seeing his hoodies around the convention center — he connected with Desto Dubb, the visionary behind the multi-million- dollar streetwear brand Cough Syrup.

“I told him I wanted to work with him, and he said that’s a go,” he said, as his assistant, Jason Carmon, prepared orders for shipment in the high-ceilinged, warmly-lit space. 

It’s an extension of the entrepreneurial hustle and grind displayed by McCown, who routinely shows up at hip hop concerts, finessing his way backstage and giving artists like French Montana and Sleepy Hallow his jackets and T-shirts; last year, he teamed up with Detroit rapper Babyface Ray on a music video after meeting him at a performance in New York. 

“Halloween for fall drop,” McCown told two Wilbur Cross students, as they browsed a rack of T-shirts. Online orders also have been brisk, he said. While tariffs have slowed the overseas sales, “we’ve gone from averaging about 20 orders a week to 500 plus.”

To hear McCown, a self-proclaimed perfectionist, tell it, it begins and ends with the high standard he sets for himself. The material is cotton wash, or 100 percent organic and natural cotton fabric pre-washed to remove synthetic components and maintain coolness. “That kind of quality is so important because, number one, it has a nice feel, and number two, it’s about the brand and you are your brand.” There’s also the design. “It has to stand out. And the look. It has to look fly.” 

All of whichgoes to the name of the business, a reference to the 18-hour days logged by McCown running the shop, coming up with new designs, and promoting his gear, to realize the fruits of his labor. 

With Gorilla Lemonade’s Kristen Threatt and Brian Burkett-Thompson as role models, McCown has increasingly focused on paying his success forward. Last October, Elm City College Prep Middle School announced a collaboration that rewards academic prowess and solid citizenship with Time A Tell clothing. That followed appearances at Spring Glen elementary school and at Career Day at L.W. Beecher School, as well as Time A Tell Day at High School for the Community where students sported McCown’s streetwear last April. 

“He’s inspiring urban kids to get into fashion design,” said Carmon, his assistant. “A lot of these kids dream about making it big in sports. He’s showing there are other ways to be successful.”

McCown agreed. “Kids see me and see what they can be,” he said. “That’s dope.”