How Jai Lyle Turned a Childhood Promise Into a Luxury Heritage Brand
ATLANTA — There's a moment every creative person recognizes: when a private idea becomes public, ready or not. Jai Lyle understood it as early as second and third grade, refusing to show his drawings until they were finished, convinced that revealing work too soon meant relinquishing your magic before you'd decided what it was. That instinct still shapes how he builds today. GZTV's Behind The Lens, an original series exploring the creative journeys behind influential names in fashion and culture, sponsored by Hollyland, brings viewers his story.
Lyle grew up with Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton already in the household, but it was Karl Kani, the self-taught designer who built one of hip-hop's first major streetwear brands from nothing and became known as the godfather of hip-hop clothing, who convinced Lyle he could actually do it too. That belief followed him to Florida A&M University, where he pursued an MBA and took his first real steps into fashion and other creative ventures, co-founding a line called Luciano Lyle with childhood friend Gene Warren.
Fashion pulled him back in when he built a capsule collection for a producer. When that project didn't become what he'd envisioned, Lyle realized he could pursue the vision himself instead of building it for someone else. That realization snowballed into JAI LYLE MCMLXXXII, the luxury heritage brand he founded in Atlanta in 2020.
The brand is inspired by his mother, Doris Elaine Martin Lyle, a model, fashion designer and Delta Sigma Theta member during her time at Tuskegee University, who passed away in 2005. Lyle has described the brand as fulfilling a promise he made to her: to become the best version of himself. JAI LYLE MCMLXXXII is that promise, extended into fabric and form.
Where much of Atlanta's fashion scene leans toward graphic tees and bold textures, Lyle's collections lean the other way, toward timeless cuts, detailed tailoring and heritage-inspired design, balancing the classic craftsmanship of his early influences with a modern sensibility. That approach has carried the brand from its 2020 founding to a runway debut at Atlanta Fashion Week and, six years in, a spot in the ATLFW retail incubator program with a dedicated installation inside Bloomingdale's Lenox Square.
Watch Episode 2 of Behind The Lens, featuring Jai Lyle's full story, and hear how a promise to his mother became a luxury brand, now on the GZTV app.
About GZTV
GZTV is a global fashion streaming network dedicated to original productions, fashion films, documentaries, runway presentations, interviews, and digital storytelling. Available in more than 170 countries, the platform connects audiences with established and emerging voices across fashion, entertainment, and culture.
Fashion Lives Here.
JOIN OUR FASHION WORLD
Available now in the App Store
CONTACT
GZTV Inc.
1 Concourse Parkway, Suite 800 Atlanta, Georgia 30328
Comments