Sunday, August 1, 2010

Korean designers: Doii Lee


Shimmer, sequins, vivid, fairytale and timeless.... these are a few words that can be used to describe Doii Lee's work. In a recent interview, the Korean designer defined her work as "sexy and fun with an innocent edge" and an "ultra feminine touch". Doii Lee graduated from Central St Martins with a BA in fashion design and knitwear in 2002. She was chosen as one of the top 10 most promising graduates of the year for the Victoria and Albert Museum 'fashion in motion' show. She began her career, working for John Galliano in Paris and was then headhunted by Antonio Marras, the art director for Kenzo. She established her first collection for her line Doii Paris in 2006, on the runways of Paris itself. Since then, she has appeared in fashion shows in Paris and Seoul. Now, Doii lives and designs in London, although her pieces are made in couture studios in Seoul.

Doii's Spring/summer 2010 collection was inspired by a painting by the Japanese artist Ikeda Mana, from his exhibition "Neoteny". Featuring a vivd colour palette of pink, turquoise and black, Doii's collection is exceptionally feminine, with busy, detailed geometric prints applied to simple, elegant shapes. The unique prints of hearts, flowers and plants are designed as if looking through a kaleidoscope. Doii suggests this as an inspiration "when the world dazzles and glitters as if ones looking through a kaleidoscope, it passes its infinite energy to me." In addition, embellishments and transparent sequins were added to create movement and shine. Small cute, bows and pleating were also featured quite prominently, emphasising the clothes appealing girlishness. In a collection mainly comprising of dresses, there are a few notable, distinctive pieces. The kimono sleeve trench coat is beautiful as is the black leather dress with cut out back, high collar and contrasting, embroidered belt.



Overall, Doii's designs are original, using a broad range of texture such as cotton, lace and silk, in vivid colours. Her illustrated, fairytale-esque prints give us an insight into her imagination and creativity. Doii designs highly feminine, luxury women's wear for those who "seek beautiful, novel designs that glisten with daring, Independence and glamour." And, they literally do glisten with sequins, sparkles and embellishments. Her designs are definitely not for the faint-hearted as Doii says herself "my designs are ageless but you have to be sure of yourself to wear sequins!" I think you definitely need a big amount of sass to wear her designs, subtle they are certainly not.
Doii's 2009 and 2010 collections and sketches can be viewed at http://www.doiiparis.com/.
















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