In 2009, Lam opened an architectural marvel of a store designed by SANAA, the Japanese firm behind the New Museum, but its size and slightly off-the-beaten-path location eventually proved too ambitious, and it closed. Since 2016 he’s shown on the runway only intermittently. Other American designers of his generation and general aesthetic have been likewise squeezed—by the shrinking of department store budgets or by shifts in consumer taste. He’s not the kind of designer who makes logo tees.
“The general business tide has not been in our favor,” Lam said, “and it’s become untenable to operate two brands.” He expanded: “The collection hasn’t grown in terms of dollars; it’s been steady, but the costs have increased tremendously, from fabrics to rent to all the communication and the work that needs to go into making the collection at a level I feel confident about.