This 1971 Marimekko dress was sourced from Lee’s local thrift shop.Ted Belton/The Globe and Mail
Who are you, and what do you do?
I am Cameron Lee, and I am an artist, stylist and costume designer.
What’s been your biggest accomplishment in 2025?
I worked with an actor and writer, Andrea Werhun, on the film Modern Whore, which had its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. It’s very beautiful and was super well received.
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What are you wearing today?
Fashion history as a Halloween costume. I am a nerd for historical references. The dress is Marimekko, circa 1971, with a tag from the Toronto boutique, Karelia – a Scandinavian focused design shop from the early 1970s. I grew up with Marimekko Bo Boo car motif bed sheets, designed in 1975 by Katsuji Wakisaka. My dad worked for IKEA when it arrived in Canada, though my mum is the person responsible for integrating Scandinavian design into my childhood daily life. I sourced this dress from my local thrift store one fateful afternoon.
What about the makeup?
The makeup, by AJ Lauren, references an Alexander McQueen collection and the runway show’s climax when a bunch of spooky clowns emerged. I love Halloween. The permission this special time of year allowed me as a kid to have fun with expression is one that I carry through just about every day.
How did you discover your love of fashion?
I entered the world of vintage clothing and luxury fashion through an interest in collecting magazines in my teens –I had a preference for I-D and Dazed and Confused.
What’s your advice for dressing for Halloween in a stylish way?
When I build a Halloween costume, it begins with a specific item. This dress is cut as a series of circles, with a circle print bisected in a cross vertically and horizontally. That made me think of the Paco Rabanne metal neck piece I paired with it. Overall, the look feels like some retro-futurist time warp. It reflects themes of couture, circa 1971, a post-space age reimagining of what could be fashionable. Rabanne’s Barbarella fantasy needed to come back to earth, and Marimekko’s retro-modern motifs gave us folkloric fantasy and cult-ish comfort.
Is there a book or film that feeds your love of fashion history?
The most crucial for me is Andre Leon Talley’s autobiography, The Chiffon Trenches. He had such an incredible mind. I’ve listened to the audiobook because he narrates it himself. He has such a lyrical, magical way of giving a quick history lesson that also ties a fashion moment back into the now. He was a genius.
For a film, honestly, it’s a bit of a cliché but I love Unzipped. Isaac Mizrahi belongs in film. And the use of black-and-white and then the big reveal of colour is so gratifying.
What do you hope from fashion in 2026?
Quiet sombreness needs to take up less space. RIP Armani, but, to the very elaborate greige world he developed, I say, we need to shift the narrative now.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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