JENN LEE

What cause is particularly important for you?
As Italian, the cause that is most important to me is to preserve the Italian craftsmanship and to guarantee the authentic Made in Italy. I also care about sustainability and recycle: I’m on the front line to support the protection of the environment and the social responsibility in order to help our planet. Starting from SS20 collection, the packaging is entirely sustainable and all the linings for the new black nappa models are made with leather cut outs from the collection, to give them a new lease of life. #zerowaste

What do you think are the most important skills for a fashion designer?
I believe that pattern drafting is highly important because it enables a better understanding of our body's proportions. Since clothing is designed to be worn on the body, even the most avant-garde designs have a direct connection to the body. Therefore, possessing pattern drafting skills leads to the creation of more sophisticated garments. Additionally, there's a poetic philosophy behind patterns, offering another dimension to express artistic concepts.

What's your favorite material to work with?
I love working with upcycled materials. Recently, I stumbled upon a batch of discarded motorcycle jackets and pants at a flea market. They were rich in structure and intricate details. The moment I laid eyes on them, I knew they would transform into something incredibly stylish. Plus, the satisfaction of turning unwanted items into valuable creations is truly rewarding.

What's your favorite fashion book?
THE STUDY OF COMME des GARÇONS.

What's your favorite type of collaboration?
I once visited a factory that makes vinyl record packaging. The plan was to use vinyl record sleeves as packaging for our brand-new berets. But guess what happened? While chatting with the boss, he started sharing all these amazing packaging projects he had worked on before. He recommended a cassette tape design made by a punk band from Taiwan. The artwork on it was seriously cool, with a vintage vibe, and the paper had this awesome texture. I instantly fell in love with the design and as soon as I got home, I slid into the band's DMs on Instagram. I told them how much I admired their work, and you know what? I ended up becoming friends with the lead singer, who was in charge of designing the packaging. Later on, we collaborated on tons of fabric prints and graphic designs. This kind of collaboration is totally my favorite. It doesn't feel like a business deal; it's more like making friends. It's like meeting people with the same magnetic field, sharing similar music tastes, and having a similar sense of aesthetics. I think it's pretty darn cool.

What's your favorite project you've ever worked on?
We developed a Clothing-changing app at 23ss, created six character IPs for the app, and Acer, a computer company, was impressed. They partnered with a video game company to develop a video game featuring these characters. What made it even cooler was that this game company was the art studio behind the top-rated video game "Genshin Impact." Collaborating with such reputable companies was truly remarkable. One of the characters in the game is "Punk Mommy," with a little baby. The prototype for that character is my two-year-old son and myself 🐒. The game involves waking up the sleeping baby to watch gigs. This video game will be unveiled right alongside our 24ss collection during London Fashion Week. It's like a double dose of awesomeness! 🖤