Brett Johnson was raised by the first African-American billionaire family, business mogul parents who gave him access to celebrities, and the opportunity to travel the world, but who were—alas— not so enthusiastic when he first announced his desire to leave college to chase his own dream of being a fashion designer.

But the affable 24-year-old must have learned a thing or two about pursuing goals and persuasiveness from being the son of Black Entertainment Television co-founders Robert Johnson and Sheila Johnson, who sold their business to Viacom in 1999 and have since gone on to other business ventures. Now, they're behind his decision to do a business he believes in with his name on it.

“The biggest thing coming from a family like that is they’re so focused that no one can tell them 'no' and knock them off course,” Johnson told me in an interview last night to debut his new streetwear line. “So, I try to embrace that as much as I possibly can and stay my course. They’re very hardworking, and I get that from them: I’m up every morning at 4 a.m., talking to [fabric suppliers in] Italy and working nonstop and it’s never ending. I’m driven to do this.”

By “this” he means the Brett Johnson Collection , a line of upscale men’s streetwear that the 24-year-old says is inspired in part by the celebrity world in which he grew up and in part by a love of top-quality European design. It was unveiled at New York’s trendy Soho House, where the new label threw a launch party Wednesday night.

His line taps into the current aesthetic of Millennials in what he has dubbed the “Mark Zuckerberg generation,” men who work in creative companies where casual is the unwritten code and business suits are rare.

“For us, the customer is a guy who’s anywhere from 24 to 45, doesn’t really have a 9 to 5 day job, sitting behind a desk, but someone who is a creative type and dresses casual, but looks very approachable and very stylish, but not in a suit,” he says. “I wanted to aim and target for a guy who’s not too street or too suit, just right in the middle."

With all fabrics and materials sourced in Italy —“I preach quality over quantity,” says Johnson—and manufacturing completed in China (a common fashion pairing), it’s priced for moguls on the rise: about $85 for a polo to $295 for leather high-tops to $1,675 for a brown leather bomber vest. Although it’s been introduced in Los Angeles and Miami before New York, it is initially being sold strictly online and that’s an intentional strategy.

“Next season, going into next fall, we’ll be targeting retailers, going into department stores and boutiques all across the country, strictly U.S., to start,” Johnson says.

The line includes pieces that Johnson proudly points out the details of, like a wool and cashmere vest with a combination of materials, all from Italy, such as shearling on the collar and lambskin accents on the shoulders.

“I didn’t want to just settle for one fabric like a lot of designers would do,” he says.“You’ll see with the [dress sneakers] in the collection there’s mix-and-match of different colors and types of materials like Nubuck leather.”

This luxe layering is inspired, in part by the way streetwear has evolved from the unapproachable stay-away street looks of the past toward paying homage to the guy from the ‘hood who made good and doesn’t want to wear a suit.

Johnson says he still does take inspiration from celebrities and entertainment moguls like Jay-Z, a fashion entrepreneur in his own right, who now raps about Tom Ford and being a new dad. 

“Hip hop is going to a higher level, and a higher standard,” says Johnson. “So I think elevating streetwear to Italian-made, tailor made, outerwear pieces, sweaters and scarves is matching where hip hop is headed, too.”

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