Model / Talisa Quirk @ IMG
All clothing by
S.LEE
It’s not often that designers take a completely holistic approach to their creative process. There are holistic tendencies, sure, even some solid experimentation with meditation to reach ultimate aesthetic satisfaction with a creative project. But if you’re not in
Byron Bay, if you’re not tie-dying calico harem pants as a ‘point of difference’ that is really just hippy happiness on steroids, and if you’re not approaching the technical aspect of design in an emotionally harmonious state of mind, chances are you’re not as in-tune with your inner purist as you might think and instead you meld into the clusters of almost holistically in-tune fashion craftsmen. (Emphasis on the almost).
One such designer that sits outside these clusters is
Seri Lee or
S. Lee as she is more commonly known and by which her label is named. Hailing from the increasingly artistically-renowned
Korea,
Lee maintains the ethos that originality plus creativity equals innovation. This is something that some could say strikes a definite chord in an industry where innovation is often labelled so without proper thought of historical references, social contexts, or simply fashions that already exist. (Do you really think that
Viktor & Rolf first discovered the
Elizabethan collar, then
Sarah Burton for
Alexander McQueen followed by
Lady Gaga? Of course not, that’s why it’s called the
Elizabethan collar). But what
Lee seems to manage is the differentiation between these factors and through doing so gives her motivations as a designer real gravity.
Brought about by a dedication to understanding silhouettes, quality textiles and the art of fine detailing,
Leeshifts the perspective of the designer as facilitator of pre-existing ideals into an illustrator of original ideas as a result of external artistic inspiration. And with independent creativity comes the natural progression into artistic collaboration. Having recently launched a joint project with designer
Sandra Motallebi in which the classic shift is revisited, reconsidered and reinvented,
Lee’s foray onto the wider spectrum of the industry is on its way with the collection now available in select locations across our very own
Sydney.
Joining forces with photography mega and
PITCH favourite
Dakota Gordon doesn’t go too badly either, and is something that
Lee can add to her collaborative range. No biggy, you know. Just remember us when you’re famous.
http://cargocollective.com/sleelabel
)
. Hope we see her on the runways soon
