by Marie Kelly
17th Feb 2018
17th Feb 2018
It was my second day exploring the London Fashion Week Showcase space this afternoon. There’s so much to see, it’s impossible to do it all in one day, although yesterday I certainly made a good stab at all. But today, I was totally charmed by Gayeon Lee, a new label I hadn’t come upon yesterday. With stands on either side of the walkway, the reality is you need 360 vision to prevent missing 50 per cent of what’s there. Luckily, I have four days here to explore.
Gayeon Lee was founded by a Central Saint Martins graduate in 2015. It’s a fresh, modern brand which uses texture, colour, graphic shapes asymmetric cuts and deconstructed shapes to add an unexpectedness to its pieces that instantly drew me in. If that description makes the clothes sound complicated, they’re not. There’s a simplicity to these pieces, in fact. But there’s a real ingenuity too that can sometimes be lacking in emerging labels.
Below are images from the label’s SS18 collection, as Lee’s AW18 imagery isn’t yet available. Having seen those gorgeous autumnal pieces in the flesh, though, I can verify that (like most collections for me), the AW range is even stronger than the SS.
What makes Lee’s clothes so interesting is that she cleverly uses layering techniques to give one-pieces more depth, and to lessen the styling workload for you. Her clothes need little adornment as there’s sufficient interest within the pieces themselves. I love this dress, below, for it’s interesting asymmetric neckline and offbeat approach to colour-blocking, plus its beautifully textured skirt. It’s a gorgeous wear-anywhere item.
Similarly, this top, below, feels like two separates pieces layered over one another because of Lee’s clever manipulation of hemlines and stripes.
With a few international stockists under her belt to date, Gayeon Lee is beginning to make her presence felt. For the moment, Irish customers will have to contact the designer directly to order via gayeonlee.com. This is definitely a label to watch.