Jenn Lee just turned ten, and instead of cake, she served us gothic tailoring, vampiric leather, and dragon buttons that hit harder than tequila shots at 3 a.m. The venue? Village Underground. The vibe? Subculture séance meets high-fashion exorcism.
Known for ripping clothes apart and stitching them back with philosophy, this season JENN LEE swerved into Dream of the Red Chamber, yes, 18th-century Chinese lit, but flipped into East Asian sensuality with a vamp bite. Imagine underground club kids dressed by an immortal qipao artisan. Imagine heritage elegance, then dunk it in black leather and blood-red gloss. That’s the mood.
Kicking off the show with a live performance by contemporary dancer Liu I-Ling, whose movement and mood mirrored the vulnerability of the pieces in the collection, two looks in particular were literally made by a qipao master and had everyone gagging. Starched shapes, hand-tied knot buttons, seams cleaner than your FYP feed. Traditional? Sure. But Lee twisted those details into something that screamed rebellion while still dripping elegance.
Then came the Fan Dress, pleats layered like architectural origami, straps pierced with dragon and phoenix frog buttons ripped out of their comfy, “auspicious” past and slapped on like tattoo ink. Ancient power symbols turned punk jewellery. Call it Eastern poetry rebranded as body armour.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get darker: a square-shoulder leather jacket, resurrected from a ‘70s vintage piece, strutted down like Dracula’s power suit. Handcrafted knot fastenings, exaggerated silhouette, pure vampiric thirst. If Nosferatu had a Pinterest board, this would be it.
This wasn’t a “greatest hits.” This was JENN going full throttle, from shredded chaos to sharpened precision. Ten years in, she’s not mellowing, she’s levelling up into high-drama sophistication with the energy of an underground rave that never ends.
Verdict? JENN LEE didn’t just celebrate a decade. She burned it down, resurrected it in leather and pleats, and fed it back to us with fangs. Gothic, sensual, untamed. A decade never looked so good.
Words by Lewis Robert Cameron
Jenn Lee @jennlee_official
PR DYELOG @dyelogpr
Dancer Liu I-Ling @liuiling610
STYLING Callum Smith @callumsmith
HAIR DENNIS FEI @dennisfeixx
MAKE UP Kite Chuang @kite_makeup using @suqqu_europe
Music @cloudyku.her
MUSIC Cloudy Ku @cloudyku.her
Photo @msmiejkowska
Runway Video @maddsinceeightyone
Set Design @potlinsun
BTS Team @lee_smyth_ @ainsley_walton_ @jamiebailey.__ @cammy_gallacher
special thanks @felliixyang @salientclass
Footwear @stevenmaddenuk @cheshe.diversion
Latex / PVC @honourclothing
Latex hoods @insatiable_studio
VENUE Village Underground @villageunderground
