“Put a key in it!” That’s what my seatmate said as the third look walked down the runway at Dion Lee’s spring 2024 show.
The white hybrid with a button-down bodysuit had wrenches on top of the boning that formed the corseted torso. That same model wore thigh-high boots with integrated tool belts. The earlier look was a tailored jacket with the seams cut to accommodate another belt instead of pockets, and the show opener consisted of a tailored jacket worn over a white shirt with metallic bars over two of the seams. You probably know it by now: office clothes, tools… we could call it work clothes if the name hadn’t already been claimed.
Lee expanded this theme into a surprisingly wide range of hardware-clad interpretations. “This season has been very much about developing the usage and construction language I’ve been playing with so far,” he said during a preview, mentioning the scaffolding and industrial design in his Melbourne and Miami stores and the utilitarian details that he has been exploring lately. The appeal of Lee as a designer is his ability to both fix (and cleverly expand) a specific theme while managing to keep his clothes distinct. are.
Lee said he started playing with net cords as a way to drape for his fall campaign, which carried over into this collection in the form of pleated details using bungee cords. Particularly nice were a pair of pants whose label on the back had been replaced by a socket; The model walked the runway plugged in and carried his coiled orange cord as a shoulder bag. The designer also used screw heads instead of studs, turned suede work boots into tiny corsets, added lace detailing to trousers and draped beautifully airy dresses, some with pleating details around screw-shaped jewelry. One piece he was particularly good at was the closing look, a crepe dress draped and gathered around an anatomically shaped structure at the stomach. How the dress looks and feels while you’re sitting is the real question, but it’s not the kind of dress you wear to sit in anyway.
Elsewhere, Lee laminated denim and introduced foil leather for a sleek touch of texture. The latter was used in skirts and dresses with curved hems, adding some welcome variation in form – these felt new for Lee, and it would be interesting to see how he continued to explore working outside the body moving forward. (Speaking of the body, there were some appreciated expansions in sizing in Lee’s casting.) Also cool were his lacy lingerie-esque explorations; they felt furthest where they fell weightlessly around the body instead of constricting it.
In another development, Lee moved away from his usual monochromatic palette and strict category groupings to “mix things up a bit more.” The goal, he said, was to offer an “overly branded wardrobe.” That’s the key word here, wardrobe– the truth is that it has become reductive to label Lee’s clothes as anything other than rave-ready. That is true and will remain true, but he also gave his customers options after a night out. Dion Lee still has a few tools in his toolbox.
