Dion Lee: Mixing oil & water for Resort 2014

By: Niki Bruce, herworldPLUS

When it comes to Australian fashion, even the most dedicated of fashionistas would be hard-pressed to be able to name more than a handful of "big name" designers or labels, but just about everyone who has a dedicated interest in fashion will recognise the Dion Lee label.

Despite only having launched five runway collections so far, his first was ready-to-wear Autumn Winter 2012-13 although the label was established in 2008, and being only 26-years-old, this tall, elegant - dare we say "modelesque" - young man remains unbowed by the enormous pressure of being Australia's "next big thing" when it comes to the world of fashion.

Friendly, yet focused, creative, yet practical, Dion is the epitome of the best of the "Aussie" creative character; all qualities which have been transferred into his sharp, yet comfortable; innovative, yet wearable womenswear.

Having been given the nod by no less than Vogue US editor Anna Wintour and Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani in 2012, and held his first international fashion week show during London Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2013-14, this small fashion label looks set for a bright future.

"Yes, the pressure drives you, but regardless of that, I would still apply myself to creating the best work I can," said Dion during an interview in Singapore while preparing for his show in support of multi-label store Inhabit's 10 anniversary; Dion Lee is exclusively available at Inhabit. "I'm not motivated by other people; I'm driven by trying to make the next collection better than the last."

Scanning through Dion's work from the AW2012-13 collection up to the current looks for Resort 2014, one can see a clear "DNA" for the label - attention to detail, a refined colour palette, sharp tailoring and an intrinsic engagement with the female body - but just as importantly one can also see an ongoing refinement of aesthetic and sharpening of focus.

Long-term Dion says he hopes the brand will continue to grow and develop: "I do think long-term [above the brand], I have a feeling of where I want it to be, but things change constantly … I don't want to box myself in."

Plans for the immediate future, however, include continuing to show during London Fashion Week. "I felt that we had done as much as we could in Australia; there seemed to be no real purpose to continue doing the shows there. When I was positioning the brand I always wanted to build a more international brand, not just an Australian brand," explains Dion.

"I want to be driven by making the best collections I can, and showing on the international schedule is part of that. London is great for emerging designers, there's a lot of support from the community of designers and the fashion press.

"And London retail was one of the first places to support me [outside Australia]; Net-A-Porter for example is one of my biggest accounts, so it's important to be there [in London] for the buyers as well."

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DION LEE RESORT 2014

Based on the concept of creating a swimwear capsule collection for Resort 2014, Dion Lee found himself thinking a lot about water, and in contrast, oil … which obviously doesn't mix. The ideas behind resort became not just the obvious ie. swimwear = water but also the push-pull of hard and soft fabrics, neutral and neon colour, formal and casual clothing.

The collection continues to emphasis the female form, producing a number of form-fitting dresses, skirts and tops in "welded scuba lace", perforated technical jersey, leather bonded neoprene and bonded double-face satin with "floating internal cleavage" - a kind of abstract "underwire" for bust support.

There's a "watery" print on an interlocking thermal printed rubber used on dresses and pencil skirts, which sounds hideously unnatural and possibly uncomfortable to wear, but in reality creates a softly curved "shape" for a woman of any shape.

The "water and oil" concept leant itself to the colours of the collection as well, with Dion leaning towards the shades of an oil slick on water - black, purple blue, neon red, white - seen in a print and in stand-alone blocks. Touches of light aqua seem a little misplaced among the stronger, richer colours, but the bulk of the collection in white and black helps tie the pieces together.

Overall, the Dion Lee Resort 2014 collection is a neat package of the designer's best known tropes, the addition of swimwear is a complete no-brainer in many ways; swimwear is very Australian - a generic observation but one that's nonetheless true - and the designer is very good at using new, technical fabrics best suited for these sorts of garments; plus he's great at cutting shapes to suit women's bodies.

"The challenge is making something that is conceptual but wearable," says Dion, "There does need to be a relevance. It needs to relate to where I come from, to the Australian lifestyle. It should feel easy. That's when design is most successful."

As a cohesive, wearable but interesting collection of ready-to-wear womenswear, the Dion Lee Resort 2014 is, indeed, successful. The designer has managed to do something conceptual with swimwear, for goodness sake, and it's entirely relevant not only to the Australian lifestyle but also to the global lifestyle of fashion-loving women from Moscow to New York.

Moving forward it will be interesting to see how the athletic aesthetic Dion is becoming known for will translate into more high-end pieces. The fitted, streamlined, minimalism that has been an overarching trend on international runways since the early 1960s, and is an underpinning of Dion's work, is a difficult genre to redefine.

Yet flashes of genius can been seen in Dion's use of busy, yet graphically linear prints; his very three-dimensional use of neoprene as a winged collar and a kind of "sad petal" drooping paneled skirt shape - a departure from his usual pencil skirts; there is surely more to come.

He is, after all, only 26-years-old … there are many years yet for him to blossom into a full-blown fashion genius.

Photos: Inhabit

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