I swung open the door to the AYR shop in New York City that told me I was at the “Corner of Bad and Ass.” The modern, bright showroom was mostly empty, temporarily closed due to the pandemic, but on white hangers were product samples of crisp Oxford shirts and yet-to-be-launched lounge sets in seasonal pastels. It was the kind of place where you might come in to pick out a pair of classic straight jeans, but end up trying on those fun denim flares and oh, why not slip into a few shirts too. Lydia greeted me in a floral-print mask that hinted at the playful person underneath. (This interview has been transcribed and edited for clarity.) Tell me your origin story....

Going into James’s apartment, I half expected an organized chaos as images of his intensely-hued Instagram page crossed my mind: Korean dishes splashing in deep red-hued sauces flecked with gochugaru, pork belly slices glistening with slick coat of sesame oil, and his “XL” tornado kimbap rolls packed to the edges with all the goodies you can find in the fridge. But instead, I entered an almost Zen-like space with a spotless - but enormous - dining table and a neat kitchen that showed no outward signs of anything out of the ordinary. What did provide a glimpse into his mind was the unmissable tall white bookshelves that were filled with cookbooks (“This is my shrine to Ina Garten,” he shared...