Edeline Lee

Edeline Lee is a London-based, Canadian British fashion designer of Korean descent.^[1]

Lee, wearing her own design (2020)

Early life and education

Edeline Lee was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada^[1] and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree with First Class Joint Honors at McGill University. She then completed her Foundation in Arts and Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and graduated with a First from Central Saint Martins with a BA (Honours) Fashion Design Womenswear.^[2]

In 2002-03, in between her degrees, Lee apprenticed in the studios of Alexander McQueen in London and John Galliano in Paris. She also trained at Conock & Lockie under the former Head Cutter of H. Huntsman & Sons of Savile Row in traditional methods of bespoke tailoring. She dropped out of Central Saint Martins in 2004^[3] to work as an Assistant Designer to Zac Posen in New York. She returned to Central Saint Martins to finish her degree and then worked as Head Designer for Rodnik in London. She then consulted for various companies.

Career

Lee was commissioned by jeweller Cora Sheibani^[4] to design a collection on which to display her jewellery. This accidental soft launch led to a flurry of private orders and the birth of her eponymous collection. It was discovered by Hamish Bowles, reviewed in Vogue and Women's Wear Daily, written up by the New York Times and chosen as one of Harper's Bazaar's 10 Favorite Things and one of Vogue Italia's Talents. Her work has been covered extensively in the press since.

Lee has received strong support from the women of the art world, who naturally gravitate towards her aesthetically sophisticated signature of structured, feminine shapes, clean modernist lines, and precise attention to craftsmanship. She has gained international recognition for her fashion presentations which have the immersive quality of film and live performance. Her work was exhibited by the curators of the Fashion Space Gallery to represent the "Future of Fashion Presentation".

Lee has been a regular contributor to Style.com's Video Fashion Week and Guest Editor for Stiletto Magazine.

She has been showing on the official calendar of London Fashion Week since Spring Summer 2018.

All of Lee's pieces are made by hand in England of fabrics woven in Italy, France and Austria.

Her work has been worn by HM Queen Rania of Jordan, HRH Crown Princess Rajwa Al Hussein of Jordan, HRH the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Gemma Chan, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Helen Mirren, Cynthia Nixon, Alicia Vikander, Taylor Swift, Ciara, Amy Fine Collins, Ellie Goulding and Solange Knowles.

Her collections are available: Harvey Nichols, Bloomingdales, Stanley Korshak, Moda Operandi, Browns, Fenwick, Harrods, Angela's, Jane Davidson, Club Designer, Gallery 9, So Susu and Costume Dublin.

Awards and honours

• Lee was awarded a New Fashion Pioneer^[5] by the Centre for Fashion Enterprise and is twice a Finalist for the Samsung Fashion & Design Fund.^[6]
• In 2016, Lee was nominated for Breakthrough Womenwear Designer of the Year by WGSN.
• In 2017, Lee was awarded a British Fashion Council Fashion Trust grant^[7] and was a finalist for the Mercedes Benz Etoiles prize.