New York has had a relaxing effect on Dion Lee – if not the on man himself then the brand. The Aussie designer has been showing in the city for a few years now but he himself moved here just this year. Lee made his name with structured lines and impeccable tailoring but today he left all that behind – well, not the impeccable part - for what was his most quintessentially American collection to date. Easy, loose, voluminous and sporty; this show was like a long exhalation for the designer. And lest you forget he’s an Aussie, he paired every look with Teva-like sandals for that cocktails-post-surfing-at-Bondi look
The collection seemed full of air, literally. Big belted trench coats floated by, white shirting had vent-like slits, tunic tops came shredded. Wrap knits felt the breeze with open backs and silk trousers and zip-ups felt like parachute material. There was movement in everything, from the pleated skirts to the big anoraks billowing down the catwalk to the shimmer on a sequinned net vest dress and the iridescent stripes running down a diaphanous skirt. Even the hair was one part New York blow-dry and the other pulled up in a beachy knot. It’ll be interesting to see if this was a one-off experiment for him or if it truly is a new state of mind. Either way, it worked.
