Words by Brian James (@brianjamesstyling) and Leigh Maynard (@leighmaynard)
Taiwanese designer Jenn Lee first came to our attention when we were mesmerized by her AW20 collection “The Wild Woman Awakes”, which showcased in physical format during London Fashion Week as part of the Fashion Scout platform.
Remaining firmly on our radar ever since Jenn Lee is a brand imbued with a cross-continent and cross-cultural commonality. A brand where the exploration of the issues affecting contemporary women, who are still bound by societal traditions and stereotypes, remains at the heart of the label’s identity.
This manifests in an aesthetic that marries traditional Chinese influences with alternative Western cultural touchstones. An aesthetic which draws from punk, psychedelia and club culture to produce avant-garde pieces that are created with life-affirming intentionality to promote positivity and inclusivity.
Jenn Lee is also a designer who puts environmental advocacy and ethical intentions at the brand’s very core, adhering to a principle of upcycling and recycling to find her source materials; this ethos continues throughout the entirety of her transparently ethical supply chains. It’s a philosophy which also extends to the label’s contributions to local conservation projects. A philosophy that has been lauded not just by Jenn Lee’s peers and industry insiders but also by Vogue, who highlighted her as an eco-minded designer who actively champions sustainability.
For AW22, Jenn Lee brought us a collection entitled “Love Button Hunter”, a body of work demonstrating a designer whose creativity remains infused with a breathtaking punk sensibility. A collection in which she sought the participation of other women to proudly proclaim the brand’s core message of powerful femininity. A collection which saw Jenn Lee not only evolving as a designer but also as an exponent of the digital landscape. It’s a medium she embraced successfully during the pandemic pause and one she has taken to new levels with her AW22 digital presentation and collaboration.
We sat with Jenn to ask her about her latest collection, her influences and motivations, the staunchly sustainable ethos that underpins all that she does and her future aspirations.
(1) Congratulations on your AW22 collection, which showed at London Fashion Week in February as a digital presentation entitled “Love Button Hunter”. We wondered what influences and inspirations motivated the collection?
We’ve been talking about Love, Fluidity and change since FW 21. I think Love is the beginning of it all. Something that is constant but at the same time ever-changing and evolving. I like my customers and audience to interpret my collections in their own way; that is what inspires me season after season.
(2) We loved the red leather and brass buckle punk aesthetic which you married with more familiar Jenn Lee pieces such as bodices and statement berets. How important to your evolution as a designer is it to explore new directions while continuing to retain the signature elements which we associate with a Jenn Lee collection?
For me, collection building is part game, part experiment. Whatever I didn’t investigate this season, I may come back to it a few seasons down the line with a different perspective. Through experimenting, I can become more and more aware of the brand’s tonality. I like the process to be fun and full of surprises. In the process, I can remove or add the essence and develop it in a very organic way.
(3) We viewed the AW22 collection in the format of a VR treasure hunt game. Can you tell us how it works and what inspired you to showcase your designs in this wholly immersive virtual world?
This all started from FW22 and SS22; because of the covid pandemic, we couldn’t go to London for our show, so we started an experiment to combine technology and fashion.
First, we produced a VR360 show; it’s an immersive experience best enjoyed through 3D glasses. The viewer can watch through their phone or headset and check out odd characters, my collections, little stories, and some fantastical characters that I dreamt up!
Then the following season, we released a first-person perspective video. Again, this is almost like a virtual maze for our viewers to almost immerse themselves in the Jenn Lee universe.
Then after 2 seasons of virtual reality – we wanted to bring some actions together – and the game was born! Thoughts, seriously, why are we doing this? In fact, there is no reason; I just find it fun.
By the way, when I was a child, I loved to play video games~
(4) The game was designed by award-winning production company Renovatio Pictures which has made hugely influential movies and TV series using a game engine designed by Epic Games. How did this collaboration come about?
The creative director is a friend of ours, so the collaboration came about organically. So far, we have cooperated with them for three times since 21FW. The truth is, they got stuck with us for three seasons (laughs). Obviously, they are the special effects team for movies, and we challenged their limits time and time again. Especially with our VR video game this season. The production company is extremely creative, and they love collaborating and creating sparks across different industry.
(5) You have embraced the world of fashion film with great originality, imagination, and creativity. Do you have any preference between the cinematic scope and storytelling possibilities that digital gives or the immediacy and buzz that showing in front of a live audience brings?
I don’t have a preference. I am simply looking for a fun, creative way to tell my story.
Obviously, a live show is quite different from virtual – but I think the two caters to very different audiences and customers!
(6) You have been widely recognized for your environmental advocacy and staunchly sustainable footprint. Can you tell us about your recycling and upcycling processes and also how you ensure the integrity of your supply chains?
We source and produce in Taiwan. And we don’t use materials that we don’t understand.
Everyone is talking about sustainability and recycling. Compared with big companies, our operation really has little impact on the environment. For us being sustainable allows ourselves to live in a more comfortable way in modern society, and we are simply projecting how we want to live in our creation.
For SS 19, we used discarded gloves to cover a suit completely – we called it the Suit of Desire. Then again, in SS 21, we made clothes with bio-recycled milkfish fabrics, upcycled denim from our followers on Instagram and even collected discarded sim card to make jewellery. This time earning us the title of “The rebel star of Taiwan’s sustainable scene” by Vogue Italy.
Next, we also did some fundraising. We made classic beret hats from the scraps we collected. We donated the sales proceed approximately GBP 5,000 to the Wilderness Conservation Association in Taiwan. Because the covid pandemic was very serious at that time, we wanted to do something meaningful for the land.
Whilst I was working on the FW collection, I had an interview where I was told to go vintage shopping for myself, and I saw a vendor selling 80s/ 90s leather jackets, so I scraped loads of leather jackets and came back to deconstruct and reorganize the pieces.
If it is fabric, I will first confirm that there is enough stock to allow us to produce and sell in the future. As for the re-deconstructed items, it depends on fate!
(7) As a brand, you balance an ethical ethos with commercial viability. What advice would you give to an emerging designer who might be worried that these dual objectives are incompatible?
I don’t think there is a certain perfect method in this era. It’s fun to be yourself. And stay true to what you believe in; that way, you can carve your own unique path.
(8) How do you want people to feel about themselves and the world around them when they wear one of your pieces?
Casual, fun and sexy
(9) We attended your physical show, “The Wild Woman Awakes”, which was part of the Fashion Scout programme during AW20 London Fashion Week. With COVID restrictions beginning to lift across the world, would you like to show in London again and are there any other fashion capitals where you’d like to take Jenn Lee?
Wow, I really want to go back to London to hold a physical show. I feel that there is still a strong feeling of contact between people and people. Hope to meet you face to face soon and give each other a hug ;)
(10) As we head towards the middle of 2022, what goals and aspirations do you have for the brand for the second half of the year and into 2023?
We are making more fun and punk-spirited sexy clothes for next spring and summer. I became a mother last year. After becoming a mother, I feel this incredible freedom, and I just want to follow my own feelings. I want to always be a fun, cool mom, so this will also reflect in the brand’s tonality. We are also continuing to challenge the combination of fashion and technology with interesting things, and we have Renovatio Pictures with us to present something super cool next time! So stay tuned!
Edgily experimental and staunchly sustainable, Jenn Lee is a designer creating beautiful garments for a growing number of followers who want to wear clothes that are fun and sexy but which are also imbued with ethical intentionality, which puts human rights and environmental advocacy at the core of everything the brand does. A designer embracing the changes in her own life, Jenn Lee is also embracing the changes brought about in a post-pandemic landscape where fashion and technology are becoming inconvertibly intertwined.
With her latest collection, Jenn Lee invites us to join her on a virtual reality quest which allows the viewer to immerse themselves in the Jenn Lee universe. We would encourage you to fully immerse yourself in that universe, a universe of stunning beauty and creativity.
Huge thanks to Jenn for taking the time to speak to us, and many thanks to Roxanne and the team at Dyelog PR for all their help.
You can connect with the brand http://www.jennleestudio.com/front/bin/home.phtml and here https://www.instagram.com/jennlee_official/
