No Shooshing Tissh
Gloria Lee's hard work is paying off as she launched her own label, Tissh, which started as a jewelry line in 2005, then morphed to include clothing, with a Web site that took off just last year. Lee’s talent has been noticed by many, who gladly invite her to participate in their events.
Gloria Lee was going to be an actuary, a job that normally gives more security, so said her parents. Coming from a Chinese background, Lee always has been taught to respect and obey the elders, which is probably why she went to college for actuarial science, and it seemed like she was on the track to a “successful” life. Her passion for fashion design, however, didn’t die with her university education. After she graduated from college, she managed to enroll in Coco Fashion Design Center in Toronto while having a full-time corporate job, taking classes in pattern drafting and fashion design on the weekends, and it hasn’t been easy.
“I started [going to Coco] in ’05 and I just finished that in ’08,” Lee said. “So I’ve been doing a double life kind of thing.”
Her hard work is paying off as she launched her own label, Tissh, which started as a jewelry line in 2005, then morphed to include clothing, with a Web site that took off just last year. Lee’s talent has been noticed by many, who gladly invite her to participate in their events. One was a show that took place in Saint Martin in the Caribbean last August, where she had the chance to schmooze with supermodel Stacey McKenzie. Another one was her latest participation in Brooklyn Fashion Week{end} just last Saturday, where her fall/winter ’09 collection blew the audience away with her ritzy and polished pieces in sequins and silk with bold color contrasts such as deep blue on flaming red or shiny gold.
What’s more surprising is that she produces the pieces herself, top to bottom.
“I was literally up for two days without sleep finishing sewing and everything that I could. It was so crazy,” Lee said.
A one-woman company, Lee literally designs, makes the pattern, and sews it all. “Organic” was how she described her work, and the audience loved that organic sense that permeated her collection. It’s natural, seemingly effortless; the dress and the model belonged together like a perfect match.
With daring designs that scream, “Look at me!” Lee is a relatively shy 29-year-old. When being complemented on her work, she seemed flattered and overjoyed by the validation. The contrast in her personality and design is endearing, and makes her clothes even more interesting. On the Tissh Web site is Lee’s spring/summer ’08 collection, featuring one Caucasian and one Asian model, a choice that seems reflective of her East/West cultural heritage.
Born in Canada, raised in a traditional Chinese family, Lee grew up in a Western liberal environment. She absorbs both cultures and finds her own place in two worlds. Part of the proof is a kimono-inspired shirt on the Web site worn by a model named Rose. The black deep-V shirt paired with a royal purple sash fits loosely on Rose, whose arm is covered in floral tattoos, forming contrasts of East and West, soft and rough, which curiously reach a harmonious balance. This balance also brings out an edginess, which is exactly what Lee is going for, and what’s a better element than sequins? As seen online and at last Saturday’s show, sequins are everywhere in Lee’s collections.
“It’s for the glitzy, for the dangerous, for the woman who likes to grab the attention but in a very classy way at the same time.” Lee said. Inspired by glam rock, Lee is a designer who loves fun and loves making it fun for girls out there. “I just love the way the light reflects off of [sequins] you look like a disco ball.“
Being in the center of the attention is always exciting, but what happens to party dresses when recession hits? Do designers play it up or tone it down? Lee has some answers.
“My new collection has a lot of navys, a lot of reds, a lot of golds, it’s almost like an understated beautiness or sexiness that I wanted to push,“ she said. “It’s not out there. … You can look good and not have to spend so much or make it look like you’re spending so much.”
Still juggling two jobs as a consultant during the day and a designer after work, Gloria Lee is enjoying life to the fullest and getting ready for challenges that wait ahead.
“Right now I’m working on getting the clothes out onto my Web site, getting my Web site going, and keep going with all the different collections,“ she said. “Spring summer, fall winter — it’s always happening, every season.”
(Models wearing Gloria Lee Spring/Summer 2008 and Fall/Winter 2009 fashions at the Brooklyn Fashion Week{End} Fall/Winter 2009 at the Brooklyn School for Career Development on April 11, 2009 in Brooklyn, New York. Photo credit: Wire Image, www.Tissh.com)
