Solomon Lawrence & The Culmination

In 2019, designer Isaac Lawrence founded his brand Solomon Lawrence. Since then, Lawrence’s brain-child has been featured in media like the hit series Bel-Air, and publications such as Elle and Glamour. I had the opportunity to chat with him about his brand’s journey and growth, and his most recent collection, “SLHS2024: The Culmination.”

Although Lawrence has an artistic background in painting and drawing, his passion for fashion truly began when he realized he was interested in motion.

“I feel like I want more out of art, and the thing about being a painter is that your art is stationary. It’s static, it stays in one place,” he said. 

He didn’t want his art to remain stationary but rather move with its audience’s interpretations. Right away, Lawrence noticed a gap in the menswear market, so one of his brand’s major focuses is elevating men’s attire and differentiating itself from the essentials oversaturating the market.

“[Men] want to be flashy too, we want intricacy in our garments, we want to be the center of attention too, just like women,” Lawrence said. 

Lawrence graduated from New Mexico State University in 2017 with a degree in fashion merchandising and apparel design. He had no experience with sewing entering college, but his professors encouraged learning clothing construction to be successful in the “business of fashion” later. Outside the classroom, he taught himself to sew using pillowcases and bed sheets, and by his senior year, Lawrence produced a fashion show that garnered almost 300 guests and was featured on USA Today. 

After the success of his show, Lawrence went to Los Angeles in search of a role in the fashion corporate world. After more than a year of applying, he landed a job in product development at Nordstrom’s headquarters, where he witnessed firsthand the technical skills that his college experience lacked. He decided to teach himself, and today, his technical prowess is undeniable, with keen attention to detail, an eye for color, and strong construction skills. 

Citing Olivier Rousteing, Alexander McQueen, and Mike Amiri among others as inspiration for his designs, Lawrence’s latest collection, “The Culmination,” was a result of his wanting to pay homage to his 10th anniversary of graduating high school and specifically, his senior year. The collection is centered around high school experiences with a creative, modernized twist. Think messenger bags and uniform shirts inspired by high school athletes, prom kings, and queens. 

One of the most iconic pieces of “The Culmination” is the college-ruled paper dress, constructed with more than 400 sheets of recycled paper hand-sewn together. Lawrence’s motivation behind the production of this collection is to prove that trash can be treasure, and beauty can be seen everywhere. Other unique pieces include a sheer uniform bodysuit for a sexy schoolgirl look and a prom queen all-black, off-the-shoulder gown. 

Some of Lawrence’s other favorites are the tracksuits because of their versatility — they can be dressed up or down and are one of the most popular styles online. The leather pants are also a bestseller with raving reviews because of their tailored fit and high-quality production. 

Lawrence offered some helpful insights to aspiring designers. 

“As a designer, naturally I come from an artistic background. Art has always been a part of my life. It’s the business part that is newly acquired,” he said. “For all the upcoming designers, it is extremely important for you to have a strong business mind as well as a creative mind.”

His advice is to “push the envelope and make things super creative,” but also keep it relatable to ensure customer loyalty without keeping designs too safe. Overall, he said, “Just understand the market. Understand trends.”

Lawrence also said that the introduction of social media is a double-edged sword for new entrepreneurs — social media is a great platform to spotlight designers’ creativity and give them visibility, but simultaneously, “fashion goes out very, very quickly. Brands are spitting out products so quickly [designers] get burned out,” Lawrence said. 

Along that same vein, a lot of fast fashion companies wait for larger brands to produce their collections so they can “copy-and-paste,” he said. Lawrence confided that a lot of businesses are endowed with several hundred thousand dollars to start up, and these brands are not always necessarily started by fashion designers. 

Lawrence’s journey in growing his brand, Solomon Lawrence, is truly inspirational, and his recent collection deserves recognition. Lawrence’s path is only up from the success of his collection’s debut at Spring 2024 New York Fashion Week.