As Shakespeare so eruditely noted, ‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them’. While Dion Lee is loath to think of himself as great by any definition of the word, the rest of the fashion world begs to differ. Still only 24, the irrefutably humble fashion designer has managed to deliver two breathtaking collections in the space of two years, the most recent of which was received with superlatives usually reserved for grand couturiers on the catwalks of Paris and Milan. And while Dion’s heart lies firmly in Australian soil, the rest of the world is starting to take notice.
Long before his models took their first stride onto the catwalk at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW), the anticipation for Dion Lee’s spring/summer 2010/11 collection was palpable.
One year earlier he had already piqued the interest of fashion’s elite with his debut collection at RAFW, with a show that took place against the stark concrete background of
a Kings Cross carpark. His 2009/10 collection, inspired by the work of US sculptural artist John Chamberlain, gave glimpses of the young fashion protege’s penchant for sharp tailoring, intricate paper-like folds and futuristic embellishments. Impressed by the designer’s skill, Vogue.com.au editor Damien Woolnough instantly declared Dion a rising talent.
A year later, and the setting was much different. The concrete background was replaced by the sun-drenched panorama of Sydney Harbour, as Dion presented his newest collection at the Sydney Opera House. The impeccable tailoring still shone through, but this collection revealed a softer side to Dion’s creations. There were elegant ensembles in powder blues and lilacs, with floating fabrics pleated and knotted to evoke the ethereal presence of a Greek goddess. Other creations bore the ink-blotted prints of Hermann Rorschach, alluding to the more cerebral nature of Dion’s design process.
Amidst a decidedly lukewarm response towards the other collections at RAFW, praise for Dion’s offering was unbridled. Kirstie Clements, editor of Australian Vogue, credited Dion with the enviable feat of “saving fashion week”. Tim Blanks, front-row stalwart and renowned fashion reviewer for Style.com, called the collection “flawless”, lauding Dion’s originality and attention to detail. Perhaps more significantly, the fashion commentator also named Dion as part of the group of twenty-something male designers whom he labelled “fashion’s Generation Next”, jettisoning him into the company of the likes of London-based Marios Schwab and Proenza Schouler’s Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough.
So where does one go next following the pressure of being heaped with such praise? “I suppose I’ve felt consistent building pressure over the past three years and even through college,” Dion reveals. “I just try to see each new challenge as its own individual thing and try not to think too much about the pressure or let it distract me in anyway. Of course it does distract me sometimes, especially when I’m designing. It’s hard to switch off my brain, let go and focus on what I’m meant to be doing, because there’s so much going on around me and so many people getting involved about your work from the outside. I think I’m getting better at finding that balance between people’s expectations and my own.”
Dion does admit that he was somewhat surprised at the euphoric response to his latest collection. “I think when you’re designing a collection and putting it together, you kind of lose that objectivity about looking at something,” he says, pausing to consider. “I find when designing collections that I get a little bit lost in being overcritical. You kind of expect the worst response to your collection, so it’s a surprise when you hear any different.”
A self-confessed dreamer who loved animals, Dion grew up in Sydney with an artistic introvert for a mother and a father with a background in construction. “My family was an influence on my career in a weird way,” Dion reflects. “My parents are very different from each other and so I kind of feel the fusion of those two backgrounds.”
Dion’s interest in fashion began while he was in high school and he soon set about diligently learning the craft, studying at the Fashion Design Studio at Sydney Institute of Technology, as well as working with Australian designer Tina Kalivas (who herself worked with Alexander McQueen in London). Upon graduating early in 2007, Dion quickly began working on creating his own label. “I think it was a case of one thing leading to another,” Dion says of the choice to take the leap so quickly. “When I was in college I wasn’t really focused on starting
a business, but it was something that just progressively happened and I was just allowing opportunities to unfold and made the most of them.”
While he is now at a point where he doesn’t need to supplement his income with another job, up until six months ago, Dion was the only protagonist in his design story, balancing the creative side as well as the task of running a business. He has since added two other staff to his team to help him shoulder the workload. “The nuts and bolts back-end kind of things are what absorbs a lot of my time,” he says. “I definitely wouldn’t say it’s been easy but it’s still been an enjoyable process, even though it can often be very painful. I think it comes in waves. You have these waves of really high highs that get you through the low points. It’s about finding a balance.”
With his label stocked at some of Australia’s most coveted boutiques, including Blonde Venus in Brisbane, Dion’s inherent perfectionist side reveals itself when discussing the topic of success. “I think my greatest achievement is kind of a progressive, slow-burning one,” he deflects good-naturedly. “I think it’s still to come. Success is being personally happy with something and meeting your own expectations. To myself, I don’t think I’m successful, but it’s all relative to the final objective. Things are always changing and you’re always building on the next challenge. It’s always relative to what you’ve achieved and what you plan on achieving.”
As for his greatest challenge, on this subject Dion is more candid. “One of the biggest challenges for me has been starting a business in a very reactive way without any training or experience,” he says. “The same can be said for production experience.”
Though he admits a fondness for the fashions of the mid-1990s, Dion’s inspiration for his designs is usually far more complex. “I’m very interested in the construction of the body and how the body and the mind work together,” he reveals. “I find it endlessly fascinating and as a designer it’s something that’s quite hard to get your head around. My designing inspiration is quite abstract. It often comes from several different conflicting references that I don’t understand. But the longer you work on something, it begins to visually make sense and the bits of the puzzle start to fit together. With designing collections, the concept is usually quite old, so you always have something brewing in a way. It’s really eventually about when the timing feels right for an idea and when you feel it’s evolved enough to realise it. It’s more of an instinctual thing and you need to trust your gut on what you feel.”
As Dion looks forward to continuing to evolve his label in the Australian market as well as increasing awareness overseas (he’s recently been in Paris and London showing his wares to prospective buyers), the 24-year-old offers a few sage words for young designers looking for their break. “Getting to know your own approach to design is the most important thing,” he affirms. “Make sure it pleases you before it pleases anyone else. You can always tell when you look at another designer’s work if they’re into it or not, and if it has a sense of honesty about it. Find out what’s personal about your own work, because that’s the part that’s intangible and that nobody can take away from you.”
Interview by Mikki Brammer
Photography by Bec Parsons
