It was clear that Edeline Lee was nervous last night. Not only was this her first time showing outside of London, she was also about to give a talk in the Neue Galerie on Manhattan’s Upper East Side alongside society doyenne Amy Fine Collins. The topic of discussion was the Wiener Werkstätte, a collective of artisans that lived and worked in Vienna from 1903 until 1932 with the mission of aligning the craftsperson with the artist—in other words, taking everyday objects and elevating them. The movement has always fascinated Lee; her Pre-Fall collection was, in a precise and unassuming way, a celebration of the work and the Neue Galerie’s new exhibition titled “Wiener Werkstätte 1903-1932: The Luxury of Beauty.” Included in the exhibition is a writing desk by Koloman Moser, a belt buckle by Josef Hoffman, and a box, etched with small fish motifs by Carl Otto Czeschka.
The long-sleeved black Edeline Lee dress that Ms. Collins wore was inspired by Czeschka’s box, the tan fabric that hung loosely at the arms and the waist was meant to mimic the fins of his fish etchings, with a gold button on the shoulder to serve as the eye. It fit the woman wearing it like a glove and, as Lee said, she looked almost “like a drawing.” In the same room during the preview was the Neue Gallery’s director of communications Rebecca Lewis. She was wearing another of Lee’s Pre-Fall dresses: a sleeveless deep blue shift that was belted with a rectangular clasp inspired by the lines of Moser’s writing desk. Lewis seemed at ease in her dress, explaining that she doesn’t normally get all decked out, but that tonight it made her feel good. She looked great too.
Lee designs for both of these women. Her minimal, fluid pieces can appeal to the patron of the arts and the more pared-back art-loving intellectual. The rest of the Pre-Fall collection was stellar too, particularly the white blouses with flared sleeves and sleek multicolored buttons, boxy suiting, and tops with fabric folded just so over the shoulder in the same shape as Hoffman’s geometric enamel belt buckles. Lee is well read when it comes to art, but she isn’t pretentious or over-the-top in her aesthetic. This is what’s refreshing about her as a designer, and its plain to see in her well executed collections, particularly this Pre-Fall offering. In other words, there’s nothing for her to be nervous about when it comes to her clothes, even if they are being shown in one of the most famous gallery spaces in America.
