When Rochester Dressed America

There was a time when Rochester didn’t just make clothes—it helped define how America dressed.

Billified goes on location at Omero’s for a conversation about the remarkable legacy of Hickey Freeman and the generations of people who built one of Rochester’s most iconic companies. Walter “Duffy” Hickey Jr., grandson of Hickey Freeman co-founder Jeremiah Hickey, joins former Hickey Freeman craftsmen and clothiers to tell stories from inside an industry that once employed generations of Rochester families.

But this episode is about much more than suits.

The guys dig into the disappearance of American craftsmanship, the rise of casual culture, whether how you dress actually changes how you perform, and what gets lost when local family businesses give way to mass production and giant corporations.

They also tell the deeply human story behind Hickey Freeman—immigrants and refugees who arrived in Rochester looking for opportunity, found work, raised families and helped build an American institution. Along the way, Hickey Freeman dressed everyone from presidents and politicians to Frank Sinatra and Colin Powell.

It’s history, fashion, immigration, family, the American Dream—and a question worth asking in 2026.

Have we gained convenience while losing pride in the things we make, the way we present ourselves, and the communities we build?

This is Rochester history told by some of the people who actually lived it.


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