Tony Melillo, founder and creative director of ATM Anthony Thomas Melillo: Tenacity and self-reflection feed the hustle

The shuttering of Tony Melillo’s first clothing line, Nova USA, could have stopped the designer in his tracks. It was the business that earned him a prestigious CFDA Award nomination. But armed with tenacity and self-reflection, he went on to develop a blockbuster line for popstar Selena Gomez before tackling a goal that’s infinitely more difficult because of its simplicity: create the perfect t-shirt.

His decades in the fashion business, seemingly unending creative energy and appreciation for comfort and quality helped Tony take the humble tee and give it a relaxed elegance loved by celebrities from Dakota Johnson to Zac Ephron. Tony’s current brand, ATM Anthony Thomas Melillo, is his namesake -- his legacy venture. And he’s got a few tips for the rest of us looking to achieve a look of comfortable confidence.

Every episode of "Finding Inspo with Alex Barinka" is [shoppable] through e-commerce company Verishop to help you discover new brands through their unique stories. Tony Melillo and host Alex Barinka have curated their favorite products in the Finding Inspo store at verishop.com/inspo.

New Verishop customers can take 20% off their first purchase with the code INSPOATM (exclusions may apply; code expires 30 days after episode publication and cannot be combined with other promotions).

Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram at @inspopodcast and Alex Barinka on Twitter and Instagram at @alexbarinka. Tweet or comment to Alex on social media, or write a podcast review, about where you are finding inspo from this conversation, and she may read your takeaways on the next episode.

This podcast is executive produced by Alex Barinka, who also serves as head of external affairs at Verishop. Special thanks to Wonder Media Network for editing and production support. See you soon!