Lee Anderson is a custom couture fashion designer in Manhattan.
I have been photographing her designs going on ten years. Lee sells custom garments soley out of her Lexington Avenue shop. Her loyal clientele appreciate her fearless aesthetic using bold colors, strong patterns, rich texture, and wonderful silhouettes to create both classic and whimsical fashion for every body type. Her husband and partner Nick Angelakis takes care of production and the business end and daughter Kyra helps manage the main store and outlet across Lexington Ave.
I love working with Lee. The photo shoot is always elegant and fun. The first time I worked with her I found myself pulling a stuffed, mounted trophy fish off the studio wall as a prop.
Here are some photographs I took of Lee, Nick and their staff at the Upper East Side shop and their Garment Center factory.
Also attaching her bio at the end of the post. Later this week I will share some photos we have created together.
Lee Anderson at her Lexington Avenue shop which sells her custom couture designs.
Partner Nick Angelakis at Lee Anderson, custom couture atelier on the upper east side of Manhattan
Staff helping a customer get a custom fit of a gown.
Sales staff helps client select fabric and color on a custom couture dress at Lee Anderson, Manhattan
Sales staff adjusts the sleeve of a custom jacket.
Sales staff at Lee Anderson wearing her designs.
Tailor creating a custom fitted couture garment
Tailor creating a custom fitted couture garment
Sketches and a post card on the wall of Lee Anderson’s New York Garment Center factory.
Cutting from patterns at the NYC Garment Center factory.
Cutting from patterns at the NYC Garment Center factory.
Frank checks fabric samples.
Factory manager Frank pulling fabric to be cut for a custom garment
Cutting fabric for a custom design at the New York Garment Center factory.
Delivering the finished garment.
Lee Anderson had already garnered a reputation for creating custom made couture clothing that embraces chromatic luxury in world renown fabrics when she established her design business in 1980 in a townhouse just off Madison Avenue in New York City. Lee graduated from the Traphagen School of Design, founded in the 1920s by Ethel Traphagan. The school was known for its technical orientation of the art of fashion design, offering courses in pattern-making and drafting. Although the school closed its doors in the early 1990s, such fashion icons as Geoffrey Beene, James Galanos, Mary McFadden, John Kloss, Christos Yiannakou and Franklin Rowe are among its alumni.
After being introduced to Seventh Avenue by Ralph Lauren, Lee worked as a design assistant to legends John Kloss (a fellow Traphagen alumnus), most famous for designing a bra that appeared not to exist in 1974 for Lily of France and Herbert Kasper for Joan Leslie. Kasper made his name as a designer by working for Joan Leslie from 1963 to 1985, becoming vice president of the company in 1980 and creating high fashion looks that reflected trends but were commercial and wearable.
Soon after striking out on her own, Lee Anderson’s collection was featured at Barney’s New York, Bergdorf Goodman and other fine specialty stores in the U.S. Today, the designer dedicates herself to her signature couture collection and special New York clientele. She continues to create clothing that embraces chromatic luxury using the most extraordinary and researched fabrics of the world, including iridescent taffetas, brocades, hand fringed British district checks and Celtic tweeds.
Lee Anderson Couture caters to a clientele who share her love for the highest pinnacle in luxury fashion.
Eric Hason Photography, New York 