Appliances as bags, tools as accessories. Sounds kitsch, but on Dion Lee, it feels like the smartest — and sexiest — idea ever.
The thing about making fashion that’s so deeply imbued in the technical is that it can sometimes come off unintentionally “cold”. A detachment which manifests when a designer becomes too fixated on the design itself, and not on how the wearer might feel in it. This is a prose that Dion Lee has circumvented in the last few seasons. Its answer? Just add a tinge of sexuality.
Backed by fashion influencers who swear by its tank tops and corset variations, what was presented for SS24 isn’t too far from what we’ve already come to expect of Dion Lee. There was the shockwave of the reinvented: In FW22, we saw the use of the hook-and-eye as an experimental embellishment, while the new season stakes its claim with mechanical tools such as wrenches and the tool bag. And unlike some brands who are eyeing the return of the monogram to make their case (such is the case for Proenza Schouler), the use of power cords feel just as impactful, if not luscious.
And it’s worked in their favour. The Sydney-born label that’s making its mark on stateside fashion has become a well-loved industry favourite. But the phenomenon of how that came to be hasn’t always been picture-perfect — it has tried multiple design languages through many short-lived eras of trends that didn’t quite cement an identity. None has been quite as successful as its current eye on cutting-edge utilitarian offerings that are fiercely intelligent and sensual — the kind we’ve always wished would take form at already-existing tenures in big luxury houses.
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