This Brand Is Exactly What You’d Expect Out of a Vogue Art Director’s Brain
Image: Lee Mathews
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Fashion brand Lee Mathews has been around for twenty years and has since become a staple in luxury Australian wardrobes. With its focus on natural fabrics, timeless style, and clean lines, Lee Mathews is all about wearable staples that last forever.
And it’s hardly surprising since the genius behind the fashion first had a career as an illustrator and art director for Vogue Australia. Mathews started her eponymous brand by making clothes for herself and her friends at her kitchen table in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
At a certain point, Mathews found that her production was taking over her home and she upgraded to a small shopfront in Newport. Originally, she intended to use the shopfront purely as a workspace and covered the windows, but found that people were popping in to see what was happening and asking to buy her clothes. Gradually, it became a full-time shop, with space at the back for manufacturing, and today Lee Mathews is a globally in-demand brand.
The ethos of her brand is that she simply makes good things, and this is reflected in the quality and style of her products, which are designed for real women.
“I don’t think of the clientele for my brand in terms of generic demographics. I think of my friends, my staff, the people I admire and I consider their lives and what will give them ease and beauty”, says Lee.
As well as thinking of her customers while she designs, Mathews is also inspired by architecture and art—no doubt a remnant of her Vogue days.
At the core of her brand is her signature clean, simple aesthetic, with comfort and functionality just as important as style. She avoids passing trends in favour of timeless, flattering fashion that forms the basis of any wardrobe, season after season. Linen, cotton, wool and silk are her fabrics of choice, ones that are natural and have a pleasing texture.
“If I had to be pinned down to a wardrobe philosophy’, she says, ‘it would be to design clothes that resonate deeply with people’s lives, clothes that are functional and beautiful, that are ageless and simple and manage to add easy and confidence every day,” she adds.
The designer has since branched out into homewares and carries the same aesthetic into her range of neutral, earthy crockery.
Here are a few pieces of new-season Lee Mathews we’d like in our autumn wardrobes:
Lee Mathews Clothing Perfect for Autumn
Victoria Gathered Shirt
This is technically from the spring/ summer collection, but this Spanish cotton-blend shirt feels like the perfect trans-seasonal piece. It’s slightly stretchy and hard to crease and features ruching details at the front and back, as well as generous sleeves. We’ll be wearing it with dark jeans as the weather cools.
Tencel Rib Maxi Dress
Another fabulous year-round piece, this maxi dress is made from 100 per cent thoughtfully produced Tencel. The dress has a collar and vertical textured and coloured stripes. Black ankle boots and a denim jacket will see us through autumn.
Cashmere Balloon Sleeve Sweater
A good sleeve elevates a simple knit to dream territory, and this cashmere sweater is there. It’s got a crew neckline and a boxy fit—and those full balloon sleeves. This will be an absolute day-to-night staple.
Cashmere Turtleneck Knit
If you’re more into a neckline than a sleeve, go for this cashmere turtleneck sweater for your go-to sweater. It has a ribbed finish at the hems and splits at the cuffs, as well as a long-line relaxed fit.
Florentine Cashmere Cocoon Coat
A good coat is a winter essential, and this season we’re upgrading to this fabulous overcoat style. In a cashmere-wool blend, this coat has a relaxed cocoon shape, a double-breasted button closure, large patch pockets and back belt. It comes in several colours, so you may need to get two.
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