Dutch designer Sander Lak is on a perpetual seek for “dwelling.” Lak was born in Brunei, however he grew up throughout Malaysia, Gabon, Scotland and the Netherlands earlier than settling in New York Metropolis a decade in the past. His nomadic upbringing serves as a supply of inspiration for his namesake label Sanderlak, a colourful ready-to-wear model that launched in 2025.
Earlier than founding his eponymous model, Lak stacked his resume with positions at Phillip Lim, Balmain and Dries Van Noten. The Central Saint Martins alum beforehand launched Sies Marjan, a luxury ready-to-wear label named for his dad and mom, in 2016 and later closed the model in 2020. Now, with Lak’s years of luxurious design expertise and his eager eye for colour, Sanderlak is placing down (momentary) roots in NYC’s Chinatown with a long-term pop-up retailer situated at 2 E Broadway.
Photograph: Courtesy of Sanderlak
“The best way that we constructed [Sanderlak] is by annually — and a yr is a metaphorical yr — we modify the lens, we modify the narrative from a nomadic viewpoint, which can also be primarily based on how I used to be raised,” Lak tells Fashionista. For “Yr 01,” because the model calls it, Sanderlak is exploring the essence of Los Angeles by means of two coordinating collections. Nevertheless, do not count on to see on-the-nose references to L.A. landmarks. As an alternative, Lak goals to seize the colours and “emotions” of the West Coast metropolis.
“It isn’t a reference to [L.A.]. It isn’t in regards to the historical past of it. Do not ask me what the cool restaurant is, I do not know,” Lak says. “It is actually extra about this concept of, ‘how do you distill a spot right into a colour card and into an expertise by means of garments?'”
Sanderlak Yr 01: Assortment II Photograph: Kacper Kasprzyk/Courtesy of Sanderlak
Inside “Yr 01”, Collection I dives into L.A.’s signature sunshine and its dry, desert warmth through sun-bleached gradient prints and varied yellow colorways. Collection II, which debuted on the model’s NYC pop-up on July 30, affords a darker interpretation of the Metropolis of Angels. Sanderlak investigates what L.A. appears like as soon as its shining pure gentle supply (the solar) disappears, leaving synthetic lights to light up town. Neon greens replicate the “harsh” nighttime lighting of Sundown Boulevard, whereas cracked leather jackets reference the textured sheen of L.A.’s pavements and painted by hand denim captures the glow of passing billboards. Sanderlak’s Assortment II is out there now at its pop-up and at sanderlak.com, with costs starting from $240 to $3,900.
Photograph: Courtesy of Sanderlak
With its emphasis on colour and texture, Sanderlak takes a genderless method to its collections. For instance, Net-a-Porter shares the model as a girls’s assortment, whereas Ssense markets it as a males’s line, in line with Lak. Sanderlak can also be obtainable at Moda Operandi, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. Whereas stockists type Sanderlak’s items in another way for his or her respective prospects, the core of the model’s ethos stays the identical: “[The clothes are] simple to put on,” Lak says. “They’re spectacular in [their] use of colour and texture, however not overcomplicated in design.”
Sanderlak’s pop-up, which opened in Might and has surpassed its meant month-long run, is nestled within the coronary heart of Chinatown, aligning the model with the neighborhood’s uniquely high-low vitality. “All the things is type of mixing and clashing, and there is one thing that’s so New York about that as nicely that feels actually acceptable for the place we’re,” Lak says of the placement.
Photograph: Courtesy of Sanderlak
With one yr beneath Sanderlak’s belt, Lak’s purpose is to proceed designing “mental” but “not threatening” clothes for the model’s viewers. The label lately unveiled its “Year 02” assortment in honor of Holland (the place Lak is “technically” from), including one more stamp to Sanderlak’s sartorial passport.
“We’re a really open and really simple model,” Lak says. “We aren’t ‘you need to be a part of the cool youngsters.’ It isn’t elitism in any type of means. It truly is extra about this concept of, if that is your area of interest, I am right here for you. I can dress you for the remainder of your life.”
Go to Sanderlak’s pop-up retailer at 2 E Broadway, open Wednesdays by means of Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Above, watch our tour of Sanderlak’s Assortment II.
Please word: Sometimes, we use affiliate hyperlinks on our web site. This on no account impacts our editorial decision-making.
