Shot these beauties for fashion editorial to be published in the October/November issue of Today’s Black Women magazine. Due to the image embargo I cannot show any of the fashion looks. After the shoot I had the models stand by my studio window and took some natural light portraits.
Makeup by Jackie Sanchez. Hair by Tiffany Coates. Fashion editor Ionia Dunn Lee. Models Gabi K (Fentonmoon), Erica and Miriam (Mint Model Management), Orlande (Scale Model Management).
This winter my friend and former assistant Kentaro Minami visited NYC with his client Mitsukoshi Department Store to photograph events and other assignments. One of the assignments were to create photos of their newly designed shopping bag being used by people. I was quite flattered when he asked me and my family to model for the shoot, which of course includes our Italian exchange student Caterina and our vizsla, Hoshi. Sunday morning we had the crew over for a typical New York breakfast of bagels, lox, and cream cheese, then got down to work: hair, makeup, styling and shooting in my Brooklyn home.
The photos were recently hung in windows at their flagship store in Tokyo. Unfortunately my schedule does not permit me to visit Tokyo and stand next to the window in order to greet my Japanese fans and autograph shopping bags. I am thrilled to have the experience, memories, and photos! I love being on the model side of the camera.
It is a beautiful day in New York City. Just got back from walking my vizsla in Prospect Park. I plan on taking a long bike ride and maybe head down to the beach. In honor of a beautiful day at Brighton Beach, a Brooklyn neighborhood filled with Russian immigrants, I am making a quick post with my photograph of another Russian beauty, Anastasia Safonov of Wilhelmina. Makeup by Aeriel Payne, hair by Isaac Davidson.
Anastasia Safonov photographed by Eric Hason
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 