BRADFORD-born designer Daniel Lee has become one of the biggest players in the world of international fashion. 

At just 34, the former Dixons City Academy pupil, has hit the heights of the industry and is revered within it; his designs achieving ‘cult’ status among those in the know. Back in 2018, he was appointed Creative Director of luxury Italian brand Bottega Veneta and in his first year in charge, swept the board at the prestigious British Fashion Awards. 

Last year, Lee presented his spring/summer 2021 collection for the fashion house in two, small, socially distanced shows in London, which were shrouded in secrecy.

Among those in attendance were Kanye West, Stormzy and model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. But, it all began in Bradford, where he lived until the age of 18, before moving to London to study at Central St Martins, following in the footsteps of British fashion icons like Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. 

From there, he built his name working in a string of top fashion houses on both sides of the Atlantic. Speaking to the ‘In the Studio’ podcast for the BBC World Service, Lee touched on his life in Bradford and how his future career path started to take shape. 

He said: “As a kid, my nanna, she was someone I spent a lot of time with when I was growing up and I spent a lot of time at her house, kind of making things on the carpet on the floor, cutting up, making a mess.

“She was very patient, and I guess creativity almost started then, it was almost this kind of distraction, this outlet. I had many ideas about what I thought I could have been, I went to quite an academic school and I definitely enjoyed school and I enjoyed studying. I think being from the North, generally this value and this idea of working hard, is really instilled within us and I think everything somehow seemed possible.”

It was a visit to Bradford’s fabric emporium Bombay Stores which saw Lee create his first outfit for a school project.

“I think the tutor at the time was very proud of my outfit and he was displaying it all around the school,” he told the programme.

“I think that really was the first thing that I ever made, that then kind of got me onto this fashion track. That, I guess, was the beginning of my fashion career.”

He added: “The teachers were super supportive, it almost felt quite ahead of the time. At the time it really was quite unique, many of my friends were gay and lesbian, it was very, very, very diverse in terms of background, which was fantastic.”

The fashion industry hasn’t been left untouched by the Covid-19 pandemic and has had both an impact on Lee’s latest collection and the way it was presented.

He said: “Fashion ultimately for me really is about people and it’s about stimulation and fashion, at its best, definitely is a conversation of what’s happening in the world at that given moment. Obviously, I think in this moment, we’ve definitely been influenced quite heavily by domesticity, comfort, also this idea of handicraft, the fact that we’re at home.

“Creativity, I think, really has accompanied us through this year, whether it’s been reading a book or doing some knitting. Creativity really is what’s kind of kept us going.”