Daniel Lee (designer)
Daniel Lee (born 22 January 1986) is an English fashion designer. He was the creative director of the Italian luxury fashion house Bottega Veneta from 2018 to 2021. Biography. Early life. Daniel Lee grew up in Bradford, England. His father was a mechanic and his mother was an office worker. Daniel Lee first attended the Dixons City Academy, and then graduated from the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (master's degree) where he was tutored by Louise Wilson. He was an intern at Maison Margiela and Balenciaga (under the direction of Nicolas Ghesquière), and  landed a position at Donna Karan in New York after his graduation in 2010. In 2012, Daniel Lee left Donna Karan for Céline in Paris, where he started as a member of the design team and eventually became the director of ready-to-wear design. He assisted Phoebe Philo in developing the minimal aesthetic that led to the brand's booming popularity. Bottega Veneta. In June 2018, Kering appointed Daniel Lee as creative director of Bottega Veneta, to give a new impetus to the Italian luxury fashion house and develop its ready-to-wear collection. His agenda also included rebooting  the men’s ready-to-wear collection and launching a home collection. Daniel Lee maintained the team of artisans. He preserved Bottega Veneta’s emphasis on well-crafted, logoless and simplicity-driven products. To give a new look to Bottega Veneta, he inflated the "Intrecciato" designs to capitalize on the brand's most iconic features, and infused more hedonism/desirability in the brand's products. He designed the "Pouch" clutch bag which became the fastest selling bag in the history of the brand. Harpers Bazaar commented: Bottega Veneta has become one of fashion's most popular brands in 2019, thanks  to its quiet, modern elegance reinterpreted by Lee. His transformation of Bottega Veneta is coined “New Bottega”. He was tagged "The Quiet Radical" by "Vogue," and “fashion’s new wonder boy” by Harper’s Bazaar. Since early April 2021, the Berlin police has been investigating whether Bottega Veneta staged afterparties at the Soho House (club) without social distancing or masking. In 2021, Lee designed costumes for the Venice Dance Biennale, It also replaced the monthly fashion shows with private shows or of "salon". On November 10, 2021, Bottega Veneta and Lee announced he would be leaving his post as creative  director in a "joint decision to end their collaboration."