EMERGING DESIGNER

Yilin Lee

IN THIS FEATURE: Meet Yilin Lee Fashion Focus

ilin’s 2008 line gives fashionistas a modern interpretation of Asian details, spiced up with a little sex appeal and sophistication - but nothing too over the top. After all, despite her incredible imagination, Yilin is still her parents’ daughter… stylish, but very practical.

Taiwan’s Yilin (yee-lin) Lee told us that she’s always been involved with fashion – always. However, her traditional parents told her to “do something practical” with her life.

Yilin tried to follow her parents’ advice. After moving to the U.S. when she was 12, Yilin eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Seattle’s University of Washington. But, she decided to switch to fashion, full-time, in 2005, because she “needed something to express creative energy.”

We’re glad she did. Yilin just won the “Most Creative” award for Seattle Magazine’s Seamless in Seattle fashion design competition (MyCloset.com sponsored the runway show which debuted her new line). Her close connection to the Pacific Rim, living and working in Seattle, helps Yilin channel her Asian background with ease. The timing couldn’t be better for her brand of Asian fusion. Yilin’s deep-rooted, authentic viewpoint gives her creations mass appeal as Asian-inspired designs continue to grow in popularity in the U.S.

Don’t look for extreme Asian in Yilin’s designs. They have a huge amount of Western personality, too. “Whimsical elements and origami structure,” she explained, shortly before her designs hit the runway at Seamless in Seattle.

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