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| Lazaro Hernandez | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lazaro Hernandez |
| Occupation | Fashion designer, entrepreneur |
Lazaro Hernandez is a Cuban-American fashion designer and co-founder of a Los Angeles–based fashion label. He is known for experimental tailoring, subculture references, and collaborations within contemporary art, music, and film circles. Hernandez has contributed to fashion discourse through runway shows, exhibitions, and commercial collections that intersect with popular culture and high fashion.
Hernandez was born in Cuba and raised in Miami, Florida, where his upbringing intersected with communities linked to Little Havana, Miami Beach, Cuban American culture, and diasporic networks. He studied at institutions associated with design and visual arts in the United States, connecting with faculties and peers from Parsons School of Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, Pratt Institute, and regional art programs. During formative years he encountered mentors and visiting lecturers from institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and city arts councils, which influenced his approach to materials and presentation.
Hernandez co-founded a fashion label with a partner in the early 2000s in Los Angeles, launching collections that rapidly engaged critics from publications including Vogue, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and fashion editors from Elle (magazine), GQ, and W Magazine. The label navigated fashion seasons showcased during New York Fashion Week, collaborated with retail platforms like Barneys New York, Dover Street Market, Opening Ceremony, and engaged with e-commerce outlets such as SSENSE and MatchesFashion. The brand expanded into menswear and womenswear, participated in film costume projects associated with studios like Paramount Pictures and A24 (company), and staged installations at venues including MOCA, The Getty Center, and independent galleries.
Hernandez's collections have included seasonally titled series emphasizing deconstruction, tailoring, and cultural reference, often presented at venues tied to New York Fashion Week: Men's, Los Angeles Fashion Week, and international shows in London Collections: Men and Pitti Immagine Uomo. Notable capsule releases were distributed through collaborations with boutiques such as Colette (store), SSENSE, and department stores like Nordstrom. His work has been acquired or exhibited by institutions including Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Museum at FIT, and private collections affiliated with celebrities and musicians from Hollywood and Nashville.
Hernandez has collaborated with a range of artists, designers, musicians, and brands. Partnerships included projects with musicians signed to labels such as Def Jam Recordings, visual artists represented by galleries like Gagosian Gallery and Hauser & Wirth, and footwear or accessory collaborations with houses like Nike, Adidas, and heritage brands retailed by Barneys New York. He contributed costumes for film and television productions connected to directors and producers associated with Focus Features and Amazon Studios, and collaborated on projects with cultural institutions including MOCA and The Andy Warhol Museum.
Hernandez's aesthetic synthesizes elements from Cuban diasporic style, Chicano lowrider culture, punk subculture, and minimalism as filtered through contemporary design discourse cited in critiques by writers from The New Yorker and The Guardian (UK). He often references tailoring traditions from Savile Row and workwear typologies linked to Union made industries, while engaging with visual praxis seen in exhibitions at Tate Modern and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Cuba). Collaborations with photographers affiliated with Vogue Italia and stylists who work with Vanity Fair have further shaped his visual language.
Throughout his career Hernandez received recognition from fashion councils and industry organizations including nominations or grants associated with Council of Fashion Designers of America, awards highlighted in CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund contexts, and features in editorial roundups by GQ and Esquire (magazine). His work has been acknowledged in museum programming and retrospective surveys organized by institutions such as The Museum at FIT and regional arts councils in California and Florida.
Category:American fashion designers Category:Cuban emigrants to the United States