New York-based menswear designer Dana Lee uses the words “casual and effortless; easy and fresh” to describe the aesthetic of her eponymous label, but they could just as easily describe the ambiance of her cozy, sunny studio in Soho or the ideal clientele for her emerging label. “That’s the type of guy I like to design for,” she explains. “I guess it’s also the way that I shop and try to dress myself.” A Vancouver native who moved to New York about four years ago, she creates classic, wearable and seasonless pieces that blend West Coast ease with East Coast tailoring.
Her design epiphany, Lee says, began in her hometown: “Vancouver is a cool city. There’s a lot of culture, but it’s not a city where you can dress head to toe like you’re going to some posh event. What I found looking in shops for deadstock clothing was that I could create some casual looks that still make a statement. Deadstock has this perfectly generic quality about it. Something about it is really boring, but it also has this perfect feel… kind of an iconic quality.” This in mind, the designer launched the now defunct A-Z Collection, a spartan, cool menswear brand. Then two seasons ago, she launched Dana Lee.
For S/S10, Lee played with muted hues, such as white, blue and grey, in a mix of chambray, twill, leather and wool. With the exception of a pair of trousers, which feature a graduated taper that she refers to as a “turnip” shape, most pieces are boxy and skim the body. Standouts include a black soft, washed leather jacket, a grey jacquard inside-out knit vest and the centerpiece of the collection: a blue denim chambray shirt with a gentle pink gradient at the hem. “The theme of the spring collection was ombre,” Lee explains, holding a prototype of the shirt. “That was an accident. One of those happy accidents that took the collection in a different direction.” Lee, like many designers, confesses that her creative process is a bit “meandering”. For her, this means “having an idea, stumbling onto something else and then going from there organically.” She had originally intended to do a bleach fade over the material, but during processing, instead of turning the blue to white as intended, the edges lifted into an unexpected blue to pink fade.
“I don’t do a lot of sketching,” she says. “I have to do things with my hands. I’ll have an idea, put all these fabrics on the table, squint my eyes and something will pop out as a magic combination. Then I’ll lock down those materials and go on to the fit from there. So it’s fabric and finishing first, then fit and draping. Which seems to work for menswear, as it’s not as silhouette-based as women’s.”
While in the future Lee plans to expand into accessories, shoes and womenswear, the process will be gradual. “I tried to do a lot of things with A-Z Collection and my sales agent told me once that you have to build the house before you build the roof,” she recalls with a laugh. “Focus on a strong collection that delivers on time to stores, fits well and makes a statement.” As for her next creations, Lee hints that they will have something to do with a brown feather tie that she found in a secondhand shop on a recent trip to Vancouver. “Something about this really appealed to me, and it will play some role for the fall collection,” she reveals with a playful smile. “I really like the colors and the quirkiness of it. I like things that are odd and quirky more because of their weird basic quality.”
Dana Lee menswear is available at Dossier Shop: 244 DeKalb Ave., Fort Green, Brooklyn
