EXCLUSIVE: Dion Lee Names James Miller CEO
Dion Lee has brought James Miller on board as chief executive officer to position the brand for its next leg of growth.
And Miller, who is used to working at larger global companies, said the 14-year-old Dion Lee is in a kind of charmed spot.
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“We don’t need to operate against the headwinds of the market,” he said in an interview. “We don’t need to overextend ourselves.”
Miller, who joined Dion Lee in October, was previously CEO and chief creative officer of Equipment, Joie and Current/Elliott owner The Collected Group. Before that, he served as president of retail at Ralph Lauren and spent 13 years at Ted Baker.
Founded by its namesake designer, Dion Lee is known for mixing experimental construction with traditional tailoring and for embracing sexuality and gender in all its expressions.
Lee, whose title is creative director, said, “We are thrilled to have James on board leading global brand expansion and strategic growth opportunities as we continue to broaden the Dion Lee brand.”
The brand is sold in more than 200 stores around the world as well as through six flagships in Lee’s native Australia and, later this week, a store in the Miami Design District.
The two-floor, 3,000-square-foot space in Miami features artwork from Berlin-based artist Oliver Laric and a custom helix staircase wrought in stainless steel and travertine.
The designer described the store as “a portal into the Dion Lee brand.”
Dion Lee also plans to roll out a second store in Melbourne this month and then open another flagship in New York’s SoHo in early 2024.
“One of the exciting aspects of the business is that there is so much untapped potential, so much green pasture,” Miller said. “And I think if we are selective as to what we’re choosing to move ahead into as we build the brand, we’ll be successful.”
In part, that’s because the company doesn’t have the “pressures of boards, markets, being a profitable company, having too many investors sitting. It’s something of an organic build.”
Miller has had plenty of experience navigating the ins and outs of corporate fashion — including a pandemic-fueled financial restructuring of the KKR-backed Collected Group in 2021.
Now he can use that expertise to set Dion Lee on its course to the future.
In the interview, conducted from the nearly opened Miami store, Miller sounded energized and ready for what he described as “the exciting next big chapter for a brand that doesn’t need to reverse engineer or … is broken and needs to adapt itself.”
That chapter will likely have a little bit of everything in addition to the retail push. Dion Lee recently launched accessories and footwear and will be looking to expand in those areas. Miller said he might also look for partnerships to expand in some markets, while going it alone in others.
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