Dahye Lee

Age 21

Ethnicity Korean

Born Mar 3 1986 in Pyong Tek, Korea.

Lives Burnaby, BC

Collection Beauties Gossip--fun casual wear for women aged 19 to 29.

Dahye Lee’s collection, Beauties Gossip, is big on playful, comfortable style.

“It’s very feminine and irresistible—like me!” says the chirpy Arts Institute fashion merchandising grad.

With twice yearly visits to Korea to source materials and visit family, Lee can’t help but be influenced by the fashion scene there. “Korean women love to follow trends, especially from Europe” she says. “And their clothes are very feminine.”

Still, Lee’s modern knits and flowy cotton blend pieces have a decidedly Canadian connection. They’re inspired by the contents of her grandmother’s closet in Vancouver and her favourite childhood cartoon, ‘Anne of Green Gables’.

A permanent resident of Canada, Lee came to live with her grandmother at the age of seven. Back then, she didn’t know a word of English.

Designing seems to be in her blood. “My older sister is studying interior design and all my cousins are either architects or graphic designers of some kind,” she says.

Like other women, Lee relies on gossip for news on what’s hot in the fashion world - and that idea became the inspiration behind the name of her collection.

Vancouver Fashion Week runs Nov 1 – 4, 2007 at The Chapel, 304 Dunlevy Ave. Featured designers include Ashley Marie Gibbs, Dahye Lee, Daniel Gonzalez, David Leach, Faye Cauldwell, Justina Anzulovich, Lily O’Brian, Michael Doehle, Shaina Webb, Trisha Rampersad, and Tony Wong.

For a schedule of shows, check out www.vanfashionweek.com.