Behind the Scenes: Dion Lee at MBFWA Resort 2018

Last week in front of the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House, Dion Lee opened Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia with his Resort 2018 collection. It had been raining all morning, and in the hours before the show, the designer and his team were strategizing possible alternatives (umbrellas for the models and the guests, moving the show indoors). Fortunately, the weather let up. Under a cloudy sky, models showcased Lee’s carefully undone designs, which included slouchy sweaters tied at the waist, tailored blazers, swimwear, and, for the first time, 10 menswear looks.

Though Lee, who is now based in New York, has shown at the Opera House several times before—and is even designing the new Opera House staff uniforms—it was his first time showing in an outdoor space. “We were in talks with the Opera House nine months before the show, so I’d been visualizing everything a long time beforehand,” he explained. “I’ve always loved menswear and I think a lot of my womenswear designs have evolved from it,” he continued. “It’s a category that I had been wanting to explore for a while and given the significance of this show, it felt like the perfect occasion to introduce a men’s capsule.”