Interview of Designer Rick Lee

LAST SUMMER I went to a Fashion Show in Zurich and this is when I fell in love with the clothes of designer Rick Lee. I had the occasion to see his work made of pure quality and the accessories are crazy as well. Since then I have kept in touch with him, and had this idea of short interview for a while now, and so here it is! I hope you'll like his work as I do. He has also a website if you want to see more of his F/W 2011 collection. Enjoy X.

Tell us a bit about you?

I'm a Korean fashion designer based in Milan. I graduated from MA Fashion Design at ‘DOMUS ACADEMY’ in Milan. After the master course, I've worked for Pirelli P zero , Daniese and Valextra, and in 2011 I've launched my own brand in Italy and Switzerland.

Where does your love for Fashion come from?

My passion always follows fashion. For me fashion means how to cope with the space between nature and human body. One of my favorite part of fashion is dealing with beauty and aesthetic thing.

How long have you been a designer? Was it your dream career?

Before my experience in Italy, I used to work as a product designer and interior designer in Korea and Australia for over 6 years. It's been just over 2 years that I have been doing fashion design. No actually, my dream career was artist or architect, but I suddenly found out that fashion design is the best way to convey my philosophy.

I saw your collection and I totally love it! We can notice that you go for a very geometrical and edgy look, as for the color they are very neutral, in the cold tones. What have inspired you for this collection?

The key motive of my collection is to express the human body from my point of view as a fashion designer. The collection is inspired by technology and science which I have applied it to fashion. I have explored the use of 3D laser body scanning and 3D modeling progamme to transfer the data into knitted fabrics. So, the geometric pattern is not just pattern but it's my own interpretation of human body. I combine this idea with the bicylist look. the image of women who rides bicycle.

The Rick Lee woman, how would you describe her?

Always self-confident and sure what she does, savvy, elegant but not too feminine, sexy but a strong woman.

Are you preparing another collection?

Yes, I'm working on the next S/S collection which is very ecological green fashion with contemporary mood. I'm so interested in eco-conscious and ethical fashion.

What are you excepting in the future for your brand and yourself?

I'm going to keep doing things the way I do, of course there is some commercial issues but I believe recognizing my world and quality of design is very important. I would also like to carry out some interesting collaboration projects with other artists.

A word for the blog?

I really appreciate your support and interest. I'll not let you down so stay in touch with me. Thank you.

Rick Lee and model Anja Leuenberger

Pictures taken from LeeRick.com and John Merlino's facebook.