Did Frederick Lee design Georgia Lee’s dress for the Tatler Ball? On social media, he did

Georgia Lee dressed for the Tatler Ball, as shared by Frederick Lee. Screen shot: Frederick Lee/Facebook

The return of the annual Tatler Ball, held two nights ago at the National Gallery, was what many society folks were eagerly waiting for. After a hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, its comeback to such anticipation is understandable. And this year, it was, for a considerable few, extra special because Andrew Gn came back to grace the formal party. The theme this year was “Make your Mark”, and the attendees took it seriously. One of them was Georgia Lee—refulgent and gliding into the event venue as stylishly as she is known to, in a long white-feathered dress and an ikebana arrangement of a hat. Not long after, designer Frederick Lee shared on his Facebook page a reel of Ms Lee (they are unrelated) in that gown with the declaration: “Dr Georgia Lee in Frederick Lee Couture. Tatler Ball 23”.

When we read that, we were a little puzzled. Did the good doctor really wear Mr Lee’s bespoke creation? It certainly wasn’t one of the over-the-top looks from his last show in Busan, Korea. Or, was it an excellent replica of something that we remember from Richard Quinn’s autumn/winter 2022 collection, shown in London in February that year: Specifically the wedding dress worn by Lila Moss (daughter of Kate) to close the brand’s runway presentation. Or—forgive us for being pedantic—was it look 38, with those distinctive antennal feathers, from the current season which featured designs that were more supple and were leaner than those of the past? While we believe Georgia Lee could be on speed dial with Richard Quinn, we did not want to be so certain about her dress. It is possible that she didn’t mind Frederick Lee dressing her.

While we believe Georgia Lee could be on speed dial with Richard Quinn, we did not want to be so certain about her dress. It is possible that she didn’t mind Frederick Lee dressing her

A few hours after Ms Lee’s post, stylist Joshua Cheung and former fashion director at L’Officiel Singapore, who is the doctor-socialite’s stylist, shared on his Instagram page a photograph of Ms Lee and the comment: “Making her mark with pristine elegance at the Tatler Ball.” He also noted that the “custom masterpiece [is] by Richard Quinn” and that the “stunning feather headpiece [is] by Frederick Lee Couture”. The murky water rapidly turned clear. So, the Singaporean designer was her milliner. There is, of course, no doubt that Mr Lee could do a Richard Quinn gown, but would Ms Lee have wanted him to? To be sure, he did not exactly say he dressed his famous client, but he did choose the preposition ‘in’, To be in an article of clothing means the wearer is in it. We don’t ever say, we are in a hat. Perhaps Mr Lee is not too concerned with semantics, just plumes.

It is, however, hard not to consider the possibility of his being inspired by. Two days ago, Mr Lee shared on Facebook images of Fiona Xie in Vogue SG/Philippines, wearing what the magazine called a “sneak peek” of the number the actress was to appear in at the Opulence Ball in Manila. It was, as Vogue SG described with considerable relish, “a structured black dress covered in thin feathers meticulously handcrafted by established Singaporean couturier Frederick Lee”. What was fascinating was that the lace dress had familiar raised quills that were antennal too, but densely and frighteningly festooned. Ms Xie’s dress looked like a porcupine’s coat, only that it had spiky feathers. Whether that was an excited response to seeing a Richard Quinn dress, we cannot say for sure, but Mr Quinn too has a black dress that has similar feathers, only his do not appear so impenetrable and look a lot less like sharp spines, fashioned to deter predators.