And the winner is…. Dion Lee
I caught up with the always immaculately groomed and well-dressed designer Dion Lee. He did, however, admit his biggest fashion faux pas is (constantly) wearing track-pants in public. I congratulated him on winning the Woolmark young designer award, we discussed his calm and cool work ethic and I got some insider info on his collection for the up and coming RAFW.
Dion: At the moment I am deeply immersed in my new collection, to be shown at RAFW. I have had so many other things going on, so it’s great to finally be able to devote all of my energy to designing. I can’t wait to start thinking about the trip to premier vision and working on a new collection with those amazing resources. However, so much to do before then.
R: Your shapes feel so sculptured and modern, your clothes are like pieces of art… Do you take inspiration from any particular artists?
D: Yeah, I do look at alot of artists to source the appropriate references for a collection. For AW2010 ‘how to be invisible’ the idea was to create this surrealist landscape, clothes fading into the body and disappearing, with transparency and stretch silks, weaving through structures. There was one (Salvador) Dali image of particular influence that I seemed to keep coming back too that beautifully illustrated skin melting off the body. The staircase sculpture we created for the shoot had elements of M.C Escher and Rachel Whitehead.
R: I shot a jacket for Vogue from your second collection ever (pictured above) , and I’ve dressed Sarah Murdoch in a few of your pieces. Who are you thinking of when designing for this summer collection at fashion week?
D: I think there are often multiple personalities in my collection. There are a variety of women whose styles influence me in different ways. With the collection I am working on at the moment, there is a lighter, easier sophistication and I thin a stronger sense of maturity.
POSTED BY Romy