Dressing the belles of Icon Ball Frederick Lee lets his gowns take the spotlight

The local veteran couturier has become the go-to fashion designer for some of Singapore's glitziest events

- Louisa Lim

Each year, at the Icon Ball - one of the most anticipated events on Singapore's high-society calendar, organised by local Chinese-language luxury lifestyle magazine Icon - the ballroom sparkles with a sea of Dior, Chanel, Valentino and Saint Laurent.

But amid the international fashion powerhouses, one name rings loud and clear, especially among those in the know: Frederick Lee.

In 2024's edition alone, the Singaporean fashion designer created 10 gowns for 10 attendees, including content creator Willabelle Ong and ophthalmologist Ho Ching Lin - six of whom went on to win Best Dressed of the night. And yet, Lee himself was nowhere to be seen at the glitzy affair.

Even at his own fashion shows, the 59-year-old bachelor famously resists the designer's bow.

"They have to force me to come out - and even then, I walk only halfway. I don't want the spotlight. I want my clothes to speak for me," he says.

This is where The Straits Times finds him one quiet Friday afternoon in April - far from the stage lights and deep in thought on the top floor of Aljunied Industrial Complex, in a workshop that looks more like a film set than a fashion studio.

Sequins, feathers and oversized blooms crafted from repurposed straw spill across every surface. There are no gleaming marble floors or polished fittings here - just racks of drama, history and heart, surrounded by kitsch curiosities and antique treasures collected from his travels.

This unassuming studio is the beating heart of a designer who has experienced it all - from being yelled at during fittings to having dresses hurled at him in frustration - and yet, never stopped creating. Each gown begins its life here.

MODEST BEGINNINGS While he is now the go-to couturier for Singapore's moneyed elite, Lee's beginnings were far more modest.