Behind The Label | Richard Chai

It's always interesting to know a bit of the story behind the brand you're buying. It adds that special something to a piece and can help explain why it looks the way it does, the thoughts and visions behind it. Usually when I see something I like but can't really decide on, all it takes is that someone explains a bit about the piece and the brand behind it (just a tip for the salespeople out there). With our series Behind The Label we're gonna do the same for you, except we're not selling anything. We just want to keep you up to speed on some of the great brands out there.



For the inauguration we decided to feature somebody who not everyone might be familiar with, someone who hasn't catch the attention he deserves yet. And since we featured a cardigan from Richard Chai in one of our first posts ever, it seemed natural to begin with that one.

Richard Chai (yes, he is the brother of Eddy Chai of Odin) has a solid background in the fashion world. At age 13 he started taking night classes in graphic design at Parsons. By a lucky coincidence the young Richard got into fashion model drawing instead an from that moment he was on his way to become a designer.

At 18 he got an internship under Alber Elbaz at Geoffrey Beene and from there it continued. Since then he has moved on to working at Lanvin, Donna Karan, TSE and Marc Jacobs where he helped launching Marc by Marc Jacobs until he finally started his own label in 2004. Self-funded at first, he soon gained the attention of the fashion world with his highly tailored and in 2008 he launched his menswear line.

Although he seems too be a bit over-looked by the great masses he has had a lot of success; he won the Ecco Domani Award and has been one of the finalists for both the Rising Star Award and the CFDA/ Vogue Fashion Fund Award. Richard has also done collaborations with Target, Barney's and most recently, Topman.

The Spring/Summer 09-collection "good boy goes bad" (pictured above with Richard himself in the middle)melds punk with preppy and is only his second one doing menswear. It's one of this seasons best however, without a doubt. With great pieces like the trenchcoat, the long cardigan mentioned above and a few others, Richard Chai has pretty much nailed it and I would have no problem wearing outfits made up entirely with pieces from the collection.

For the upcoming fall collection (AW09) Richard Chai has been getting his inspiration from the photos of german photographer August Sander, which has resulted in what he himself describes as "cosy uniform". We think it just looks plain great, which is just what we expect from him. Check out a preview below.

Richard Chai AW 09

Richard Chai's website
(under construction)

Obsession: Richard Chai Long Cable Knit Cardigan

I spent a lot of the fall/winter season agonizing over Raf by Raf Simons's Long Wool Cardigan. It seemed like a piece perfect for just droning around on lazy weekends, or using layered in a more proper outfit on cold winter days. But I couldn't decide whether I really liked it and my priorities was elsewhere at the time. The price tag was pretty steep for my taste too. I figured I wait till the sales started and pick it up then, but when the sales came the cardigan was long gone.

Luckily for me I barely had time to regret my indecisiveness until another option showed up on the market, this time made by Richard Chai, who only recently got into menswear. This time I'm sure: I love this piece. I'm not really sure what's gotten me convinced. Maybe it's the cable knit or the fewer/bigger buttons. Anyway, it's a beautiful creation and the more I look at it, the more I'm starting to obsess over it. Haven't seen it showing up anywhere yet(?), but when it does I'm sure gonna snag it.