Words by Kimberly Haddad
New York–based fashion designer and hat connoisseur Heidi Lee, is most recognized for her “Endless Echo Hat”, created with a 3D printer from a scan of her face. Inspired by history, science and surrealism, the city of New York has become a catalyst for the artist’s concepts, giving life to magical statement pieces and visionary works of art that have garnered the likes of fans, including Madonna, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Anne Hathaway. A RISD graduate and recipient of the 2012 Met Museum Costume Institute Accessory Design Award, Lee’s avant–garde headpieces have been featured in Vogue, V, W, Visionaire, Dazed & Confused, New York Magazine, The Creators Project and more.
BASIC: Tell us about your background and what encouraged your love for designing hats.
HEIDI: I fell into making hats after graduating from RISD for Graphic Design. Since I was a kid, hats were a comfort zone for me where I felt safe. It was a natural gravitation for my imagination to roam free.
BASIC: From the Vortex Visor to the Parasol Skeleton Hat and the beloved Echo Hat, your designs are created in 3D forms and are inspired by both science and surrealism. Tell us about how you developed such a unique collection?
HEIDI: I’m a curious person and so far, curiosity has not killed the cat. Living in New York has been the catalyst for most of my ideas and concepts.
BASIC: The Endless Echo Hat has been one of your most prominent designs and has been recently worn by Jennifer Lopez in her new music video ‘Medicine’. Tell us about the creative process in developing this piece. HEIDI: I was commissioned by fellow New York milliner and RISD alum, Eric Javits (of the Javits Center Family of New York Society) to create a custom fuchsia Swarovski Endless Echo Hat for his partner Di Mondo to wear at his Red Carpet Debut in Chile. The event unfolded as a smashing success and the hat I created for him made him famous overnight. Di Mondo immediately became a household name in Chile, appearing in over 100 television shows in his home country. He broke network ratings when he premiered wearing my headpiece design on Chilean Television during the Gala and in its aftermath, Viña del Mar Music Festival granted him an honorary award statue due to his overwhelming popularity. As a result, I decided to create a custom Endless Echo Hat in white Swarovski which was closer to my sensibilities, and JLO ended up wearing it in her new music video ‘Medicine’. It was also featured on her album cover art. As they say, the rest is history! Excited for JLO to be receiving the CFDA Fashion Icon Award of 2019!
BASIC: Each hat has its own story and narrative, carefully created with a variety of mixed mediums. What things inspire you most when it comes to your work? Do you have a design you are most proud of?
HEIDI: I’ve never stopped learning and I love to read. Nature, intelligent design, books and art history inspire me to create and invent new ways of seeing things and sharpen my eyes. I’d like to think of myself as the “Houdini of Hats,” making magic and bringing stories to life in the performance of wearing a hat. I would say the white Swarovski Endless Echo Hat is one of my most popular Hats at the moment. It was part of the ‘Wall of WOW’ in “MANUFAKTUR: The Crystal Atelier of the 21st Century” in 2018 at Swarovski Crystal Worlds Museum in Austria. It’s now currently on window exhibition at Selfridges, London’s largest department store. It was part of Pat Mcgrath’s Technicolour Odyssey from April 1 to June 16, 2019.
BASIC: How has your approach to design changed over the years? HEIDI: Over the years, I’ve learned to trust my intuition, choosing to focus on self-initiated projects I’m passionate about rather than being pulled by the waysides for less fulfilling ones.
BASIC: The theme of this issue is Identity. How would you describe your personal identity and overall style aesthetic?
HEIDI: My modus operandi is to “know thyself,” or “nosce te ipsum.” It’s healthy to think of yourself as “tabula rasa” or a “clean slate” to write on, where each page unfurled becomes a new facet or dimension of your own character’s development. In terms of identity, the character I’m trying to be is myself.
BASIC: Who are some of your favorite designers at the moment?
HEIDI: My favorite designers at the moment are in heaven: Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld and Azzedine Alaïa.
BASIC: List five things you cannot live without.
HEIDI: Coconut water, comfy shoes, Burt’s Bees lip balm, kimchi and audio books.
BASIC: What would you be doing in life if you didn’t have a career in fashion design?
HEIDI: I would be a filmmaker or director because I love cinema.
BASIC: Do you have any other hidden talents that most people don’t know about?
HEIDI : I’m ambidextrous and can beat anyone at the Limbo.
FAVORITE FILM: The Saragossa Manuscript by Wojciech Has
FAVORITE FOOD: Peaches
FAVORITE SONG: “Imagine” by John Lennon
FAVORITE BOOK: Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
FAVORITE FAIRY TALE: Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
FAVORITE COLOR: Rainbow
FAVORITE SCENT: Andy Warhol by Bond no. 9
FAVORITE ACTOR: Tilda Swinton
FAVORITE CITY: New York City
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Love conquers all”
