Global C-pop artist and fashion icon Tia Lee makes waves at London Fashion Week

Her inaugural appearance at the fashion extravaganza of the year peaked with her exclusive reveal of a Julien Macdonald FW23 couture to the world.

The highly anticipated London Fashion Week (LFW) kicked off in full swing throughout the weekend, with this February’s session showcasing the fall/winter collections that inform designs and trends for 2023. This year, global C-pop singer and fashion icon Tia Lee (Lee Yu Fen) made waves at the coveted celebration of artistry, design and all things fashion. Following her recent record-breaking new single Goodbye Princess and its sensational music video, Tia was spotted making her LFW debut alongside A-listers at the shows of fashion extraordinaries such as Julien Macdonald, David Koma, Richard Quinn, Moncler Genius and the ES & Perfect Magazine fashion bash — joining actress Joan Collins, TV presenter Ashley Graham, supermodel Sara Sampaio, British Vogue’s editor in chief Edward Enninful, singers Alicia Keys, Ronan Keating and Pharrell Williams, socialite Lennon Gallagher and many others.

Tia unveils stunning Julien Macdonald FW23 couture to the world

In attendance at some of the hottest runway shows, Tia Lee certainly turned heads at LFW with one showstopping outfit after another. One of the highlights was at the Julien Macdonald FW23 collection show, where she arrived in a stunning one-of-a-kind couture dress and cape, specially handpicked by the leading British fashion ace himself. The delicately tailored customised lace slip dress, paired with a flowing black chiffon cape came fresh off his FW23 collection. Together with a pair of glittering heels from Gina and Jessica McCormack jewellery, Tia’s glamorous look outlined a feminine silhouette that celebrates endless female strength and empowerment.

As the only celebrity specially selected by Julien Macdonald to wear a piece from the collection prior to its debut at the FW23 collection show, Tia joins an exclusive international list of celebrities to be dressed by the King of Glamour, including Beyonce, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Heidi Klum and Naomi Campbell. At the show on Sunday 19 Feb, Tia was seen in the FROW amongst international A-list celebrities and fashion icons, where Julien Macdonald’s FW23 collection was unveiled.

“It was an absolute honour to meet Julien Macdonald in person and receive the gorgeous dress fresh off his latest collection. The intricate details are testament to Julien’s passion for his craft, and I loved putting it on and watching a fabulous showcase of his latest work,” shared Tia after the show.

Julien Macdonald was appointed by Karl Lagerfeld as the head designer of knitwear at Chanel at a very young age and later in 2001 was appointed as successor to Alexander McQueen as the creative director of the French fashion house Givenchy. He launched his own label in 1997 and swiftly became a leading British fashion designer.

Julien received various awards including British Designer of the Year at the Elle Style Awards in 2001, British Glamour’s Designer of the Year and GQ’s Womenswear Designer of the year in 2003. He was also nominated at the Olivier awards and awarded an order of the British empire (OBE) in 2004 for his services to the fashion industry.

Besides her grand entrance at Julien Macdonald’s show, Tia was also seen at the front rows of shows such as Richard Quinn and David Koma. Richard Quinn was the first designer whose runway show was graced by the late Queen Elizabeth II. His designs were subsequently brought onto the international stage by Amal Clooney, who wore a Quinn design to the Met Gala in 2018 to much surprise. Since then, Quinn’s powerful designs went on to receive international attention.

At Richard Quinn’s FW23, Tia wore an embroidered coat from his Spring 2023 collection, featuring blossoming floral embellishments with encrusted beads. The elegance of her outfit was further elevated with a teardrop-shaped headpiece from Victoria Grant, featuring exquisite beading and netting detail. The beaded theme continued to present itself on Tia's black suede platform sandals from Jimmy Choo, topped off with elegant pearl earrings from Theo Fennell.​

The ‘Silver Starlet’ at the David Koma FW23 catwalk, Tia arrived in a shimmering silver two piece suit over a bomber and a pair of leather boots from his Spring 2023 collection. Adding more glittery shine to the outfit was Amina Muaddi’s stunning diamond chain earrings, and a pair of Noir Sleek sunglasses from Gentle Monster was the ultimate statement accessory to finish her look.

Tia’s metamorphosis

Just as styles come and go and clothing evolves, Tia has taken on a metamorphosis of epic proportions from a highly scrutinised artist into a strong independent woman, ready to take on the world.

Goodbye Princess pays homage to the struggles of life, but ultimately showcases Tia’s determination to rise from the negativity, stereotypes and bias being placed on her. In fact, it is even more iconic because the track is the first ever Chinese song produced by Grammy Award winning producer Swizz Beatz, who has previously worked on megahits with music icons such as Justin Bieber, Jay-Z and Madonna.

In the spirit of female empowerment, Tia launched the #EmpowerHer campaign, and she has used her song as a vehicle to spread awareness for women-centric charities to further their missions. Some of the charities include Beats By Girlz and Women in Music in the United States, Daughters Of Tomorrow in Singapore and Teen’s Key in Hong Kong, all of which are committed to supporting women and girls around the world.

One of the highlights was the #EmpowerHerDance challenge, where 16 KOLs across the world led the charge to gain the attention of more than 158 million global followers, to support and empower fellow females. The infectious beat of the song also saw top Grammy Award winning female DJ duo NERVO coming onboard in support of the #EmpowerHerMusic campaign, creating an electrifying remix of the record-breaking Goodbye Princess. Together, these female powerhouses around the world have pushed the song to great heights, enabling Tia to become the fastest artist to break 100 million views on YouTube with a Chinese pop song.

With an empowered mission and vision, redefining her career as a musician and fashion icon, Tia is stepping out of her comfort zone and saying goodbye to her past self.

Tia’s journey at LFW represents an opportunity for intercultural appreciation and a testament to Tia Lee’s ambition to redefine her role in the public limelight as someone who remains fiercely independent and true to herself. For more of Tia’s fashion escapades, follow her on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

This content was provided by Tia Lee Management