In Earnest by Byron Earnest Lars: Fall 2022 Collection
Since launching his first collection back in 1991, designer Byron Lars has been blurring the lines of what was to create his own personal version of what will be.
From his very first season, he used men’s shirting materials to create body conscious dresses the likes of which were never seen prior. He pushed the boundaries even more by constructing blouses with built in lace bras as part of the construction of the garment rather than requiring a separate purchase. Was it a blouse? A dress? An undergarment? Hmmmmmmm…
Byron Earnest
This spirit of reinvention has been alive and well ever since in every collection Lars & his design partner Sheila Gray have created. As he approached his collection for Fall/Winter 2022, he was drawn back to his beginnings more directly than at any time in his past. So, he went with it.
“As I approached the season, it somehow felt completely modern to exercise the principles of my first Fall collection from the 90’s,” says Byron Lars. “When I began, I was obsessed with reimagining American classics and was all but entirely disinterested with seasonality in the traditional sense which, even then, was starting to feel outmoded.”
Lars used striped Oxford cloth as a familiar starting point, which, though traditionally found in Spring/Summer womenswear collections, is perfectly suited to fulfill the needs of the season with strategic layering. Lars has never been one to shy away from a layering statement, in fact, it’s become almost ubiquitous to his aesthetic. In his words, “layering is queen!” Luxurious layers that can either be piled on or peeled off to suit mood and an ever increasingly fickle climate. Layering is the key to this collection’s versatility and customization-readiness.
Removable slip linings and turnback skirt fronts allow dresses to dual as layering pieces over textural tops, skirts and novelty pant shapes. Even a substantial guipure lace coat is constructed with a cozy velvet lining that is completely removable for warmer months of wear. Details like this are found throughout the collection and truly define this collection as nearly seasonless. If one researches the genesis of the sportswear business model, such versatility and chameleon-like seasonality is at the heart of the uniquely American artform.
Fabrications include guipure lace, cotton shirting, embroidered net, sequins, vegan leather, ponte flannel, embroidered herringbone, and heavily textured stretch jacquards.
This collection launch is not the only aspect of the In Earnest business being celebrated of late. Last week, it was announced that Byron Lars will be the recipient of the Fashion Group International’s prestigious “President’s Award for Excellence” for his more than 30 years at the forefront of American Fashion.
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With love,
FWO
