Label Love: Amanda Lew Kee
Designing biker jackets adorned with metal studs for True Blood characters? Check. Creating custom headdresses for internationally renowned house music producer Deadmau5? Check. Being featured in magazines such as Flare, Nylon, Teen Vogue and i-D? Check. Staging fashion shows in both Toronto and New York City? Check. Doing all this before the age of 23? Check. Introducing Amanda Lew Kee.
What moves this rising star? Her first collection was inspired by a retreat to Muskoka and featured delicate earth-tone colours. Another focused on the devastating effects of natural disasters and showcased fabrics meant to represent elements such as fire, water and oil. Her most recent designs, which were shown in New York City last May, were inspired by “the constructed femininity of the 1940s with the casual, effortless attitude of American Sportswear” and consolidated what her designs are best known for: luxury, elegance and ease.
Her current projects are just as impressive as her past ones. Amanda recently designed tutus for the National Ballet’s 60th anniversary as well as the dress worn by Shenae Grimes at the MuchMusic Video Awards that
earned the actress a “best dressed” title by various international publications. She also recently teamed up with MAC Cosmetics for their upcoming campaign and will soon launch an online shop selling basic lifestyle products such as “the perfect black T” and an androgynous botanical skin care line.
Amanda Lew Kee isn’t your typical, fashion-obsessed 20-something-year-old. She chose her career path at the age of 14 while interning with Sunny Choi and started to blaze her very own fashion trail just a few years later while completing the Design Program at Ryerson University. In her third year, Amanda started a jewelry line designing minimalist pieces in neutral colours, which we now know were stylistic pre-cursors to her current clothing line. In her last year, Amanda’s final thesis collection garnered high praise from the Canadian fashion industry and she was quickly sponsored by the Fashion Design Council of Canada.
It’s all working out for this talented young Torontonian. So, what now? Amanda is currently working on developing the AMANDALEWKEE lifestyle brand and bringing her success to New York City. No doubt, she’ll be high on NYC’s fashion radar in no time.
Image by Felix Wong
