GRACE LILLIAN LEE

At 229LAB in Paris, the air felt charged. A slow, hypnotic rhythm stirred the space as dancer-models moved in unison — sculptural, deliberate, ceremonial. This was not a runway. It was a rite of passage. And at its centre was Grace Lillian Lee, making history as the first Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander woman to independently show at Paris Haute Couture Week.

Her debut collection, « The Guardians », was less about spectacle and more about spirit. A powerful meditation on identity, ancestry, and cultural memory, the presentation pulsed with purpose. Inspired by her acclaimed exhibition The Dream Weaver: Guardians of Grace, Lee transformed fashion into living ceremony—every movement, every stitch, a tribute to lineage and legacy. Each piece was a portal. Coiled forms echoed traditional weaving techniques, while laser-cut acrylic beadwork glinted like encrypted messages—stories passed through generations, reinterpreted through a couture lens. Even the palette carried deep symbolism. Yellow for energy. Pink for femininity. Green for connection. Red for strength. White for spirit. The colours didn’t just decorate the garments—they spoke through them.

Throughout the show, a glowing pearl-white mask appeared again and again—worn by the lead choreographer and dancer. It became a recurring symbol of presence and protection, anchoring the entire performance in ritual.

At the heart of the collection were eight sculptural gowns—sweeping, architectural silhouettes inspired by Grace’s totem, the Koysemer moth. With wings that reference both transformation and tradition, each look became a quiet act of resistance, of reverence, of rebirth. Supported by Epson Australia and mentored by the house of Jean Paul Gaultier, « The Guardians »felt like a cultural landmark. Not just a debut, but a statement. A convergence of past and future, of craft and storytelling, of ceremony and couture.

Grace Lillian Lee isn’t simply designing garments—she’s weaving identity into every thread. With « The Guardians », she reframed couture as a sacred space, where fashion, heritage, and truth move as one.