Derek Lam

Weekly article from: Derek Lam (2010). Vogue.au. http://www.vogue.com.au/fashion/designers/derek+lam,247?display=bio

Debuting in 2003, Derek Lam brings to American sportswear a soft, feminine style with a slight throwback to the seventies. Lam also lends his talents to resort wear captured in a collection of sundresses and silk robes. The Fashion Week Daily described Lam’s sportwear designs as touching on femininity that espouses maturity and self-awareness. Lam’s designs are also described as emanating intelligence without being overtly intellectual but rather more on the emotional side. Moreover, while Lam’s designs reflect modernity, they also encapsulate history (New York Fashion 2010).

Lam’s formal wear is characterized by the cotton trenchcoat or the trenchcoat with fox trimmings and his evening gowns which are either short silk cocktail dresses marked by “handkerchief sleeves” or “flowly one-shoulder” gowns (Derek Lam 2010). Essentially, Lam takes a classic look and brings it into the new millennium. For example, Lam would take a seventies or late sixties look and reinvent it so that it appeals to today’s market.


When Lam debuted his first collection in 2003 during New York Fashion Week in autumn of that year, he came well qualified. Graduating from the New School for Design, Parsons in 1990, Lam spent the next 12 years in design houses, particularly under Michael Kors. It was from Kors, that Lam claims to have acquired a taste and knowledge for American classics.


Immediately following his debut, Lam’s designs were taken-up by Barneys New York and Bergdorf Goodman and caught on without hesitation. Lam then ventured into other areas bringing his brand to shoes, eyewear and other accessories. His brand was validated on another level when Lam won the 2005 CFDA’s Swarovski Perry Ellis Award for new and expanding talent. The accolades continued when Lam took home the CFDA award for Accessory Designed of the Year in 2007.


 
 
Sources:
Derek Lam (2010). Vogue.au. http://www.vogue.com.au/fashion/designers/derek+lam,247?display=bio
New York Fashion (2010) Derek Lam. http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/dereklam/
Picture: http://www.marieclaire.com/cm/marieclaire/images/derek-lam-0908-wi-md-99066635.jpg