The Making Of A Concept Shirt

What goes into creating a shirt that’s can be worn in more ways than one, tells a story and is super stylish to boot? Designer Shannon Lee shares how he reinvents the classic white shirt.

- Valerie Wong

What do Netflix and whisky have to do with fashion? Plenty, for Shannon Lee, founder and designer of homegrown womenswear label Shirt Number White, known for its crisp, white sculptural shirts. The 33-year-old is a proponent of letting his ideas “fester”. To design his concept shirts, Shannon not only does lots of sketching and sampling, he also makes sure there’s time for ideas to “ferment” – by binging on cooking shows while sipping on his choice drink.

Shirt Number White’s latest launch, The Chrysalis, is no exception. This time, his inspiration came from a photo series of butterfly cocoons by British lensman Adam Fuss. He says: “One image of a white cocoon caught my eye. It’s not just the crystalline appearance; I was moved by the strength needed to emerge from the cocoon and that leap to spread its wings to take flight. The idea of breaking through became the basis of the collection.”