It’s early days but it would seem that structure and sublime drapery are becoming synonymous with the work of Dion Lee. This young Australian designer, yet again, created quite a stir at May’s RAFW in his SS2010/11 showing; this time on the atrium steps of the iconic Sydney Opera House. A graduate of SIT East Sydney, Lee will hit New York’s Premier Vision in September for a step into the US market.
Last year’s first showing by the 24 year old garnered this reaction from Godfrey Deeny, Fashion Wire Daily; “…the best debut collection by any designer on the planet this year… this was the type of debut performance that would win a standing ovation in Milan or Paris and the sort of show that designers in their mid-thirties very, very occasionally turn out after working 70 hour weeks for 15 years with Miuccia Prada or John Galliano.”
In growing his aesthetic this season there is much cross wrapping of the body and extensive draping. It’s also great to see the continuing evolution of the digitally manipulated print. There are echoes of the glories of Fortuny‘s ‘delphos’ gown, casting a contemporary Australian beach-side sensibility upon a resplendently classical theme. It also alludes to the idea of banding around the body; as in classic 80′s Leger.