Normally, I would do something like what I am about to do and I hope that it will be the last time. I interviewed fashion designer Byron Lars back in November. It was an honor and a privilege to converse with a giant in the industry, at a time when his new In Earnest brand was just blooming. Permit me to remind you of a few of his clients in the past: he’s designed all manner of haberdashery for Kim Kardashian, Elle Fanning, Gabrielle Union, Taylor Swift, Regina King, Michelle Obama, and many more. When the pandemic struck, Byron pushed through rather than succumb to melancholy. It forced Byron to begin anew, to open a new chapter in business and in life.

Below the gallery is part of the preface I wrote for our interview last year. I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m only doing it in the interest of time. New ¥ork Fashion Week events are usually the busiest seasons of the year for us, this one just happened to be more than usual. Thank you for understanding.

Byron Lars began his career in 1991 and while his ascent through the fashion world seemed to happen quickly, it took a lot of determination and hard work for his business to get off the ground. One doesn’t become one of the world’s most in-demand fashion designers overnight. The San Francisco native started designing under his own label in 1991 with a small collection of sportswear focusing on what Lars refers to as “twisted American classics” (he is well known for creating “mashups” which has become his signature style). Leaving the Fashion Institute of Technology to pursue his goals was more than just a gamble. With the combination of his scrupulous workmanship, preternatural attention to detail, dogged determination, and confidence, he ensured that success would be his. These qualities are what made it possible for Byron to build upon the ashes of all that he had done before. His new line of haberdashery, In Earnest, stands as a testament to his not ever giving up or giving in. With his longtime colleague Sheila Gray, they managed to build this new empire in the midst of chaos.

Shop In Earnest, Follow on Instagram. Photographs by Keith Major. Special thanks to Mai Vu at Very New York.