Dion Lee: On the Architecture of Clothing
VAULT talks to Australian designer Dion Lee about moving to New York and how he wants to make clothing that refuses categorisation.
Image credit: Dion Lee Resort 2018, Sydney Opera House
The triangle is an intriguing figure. On the façade of a building it can interlock with its multiples to form an impenetrable armour. When cut from a tailored pant, it can reveal sensual glimpses of flesh at the hips. Dion Lee’s Fall 2020 show at The Shed in Manhattan was as much a runway presentation as it was an iteration of a contemporary dialogue between textile possibility and architectural proportion. Consistent with the designer’s oeuvre, the spectacle celebrated what it means to dwell in the possibility of ‘modernity’ itself.
Originally based in Sydney, Dion Lee would frequent New York three to four times a year, with a vision to one day make it his home. Now, after four years in New York, Lee has established his eponymous brand not merely in what he perceives to be the city’s challenging ‘transient cultural landscape’, but as a force within the global luxury fashion sphere.
“The growth of the brand has been really organic and has definitely not been an overnight success,” he reflects. “It takes time for the industry here to take you seriously and support you, especially if you didn’t start your brand here. Building awareness over a number of seasons has led to the brand generating support and has allowed for the opportunities that I have experienced.” ...Subscribe to read this article in full
