Richard Chai

Richard Chai established his New York label in 2004, following design roles at houses including Marc Jacobs and TSE. Womenswear came first, with menswear introduced in 2008. The Korean American designer brought the precision of that earlier experience to clothes shaped by the casual style of downtown New York.

The men’s collections found room for both tailoring and the clothes associated with youth culture. A checked suit could be worn with a printed T-shirt, while layered outerwear changed the outline of an otherwise simple outfit. Proportion gave recognizable pieces a different character, making them feel connected to the wearer instead of confined to a particular occasion.

Chai received the CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear in 2010. His runway work drew on personal references, including the music and skateboarding culture of his adolescence, translating them into clothes through print and fit. The result could be playful while retaining the discipline of a designer trained in established fashion businesses.

The label’s archive documents an era when New York menswear brought street-level references into the runway wardrobe. Its appeal rests in that meeting of technical control and informality, offering men another way to wear a suit and another reason to reconsider an everyday jacket.