Abbey Lee on coming home to Australia, Schiaparelli and phone calls from Kevin Costner
Abbey Lee on the most wild phone call she’s received, Schiarapelli and coming home
For Australian actor Abbey Lee, returning to her career origins as a model after a ten year hiatus, was like “riding a bike.”
In March this year Lee opened couture house Schiaparelli’s first ready-to-wear show. The surrealist luxury fashion brand, founded by Elsa Schiaparelli in 1927 has become a cultural and fashion touchstone and celebrity red carpet go-to under the direction of American designer Daniel Roseberry since his appointment in 2019.
“It just kind of happened. I was in Paris at the time doing another job and the casting director suggested I go and see Daniel. He met me and he tried on a couple of things and then he sort of said, ‘I actually think that you should try [runway look] number one,’” says Lee, who is speaking to The Australian from the set of a shoot for Vogue Australia.
“It was a really pleasant surprise and he’s such a sweet man … he’s just a very open, friendly person to be around and he’s very inspired and I like being around inspired people.”
During her time as a model Lee walked the runways for the likes of Chanel and Gucci, starred in advertising campaigns for YSL and BOSS and covered magazines around the world, including Vogue Australia seven times. She has had roles in films such as Mad Max: Fury Road and the TV series Waco: The Aftermath.
The work of Daniel Roseberry, which takes in elements of the surreal that the house built its legacy on and expands this into art, pop culture and an arresting beauty, makes up part of this year’s National Gallery of Victoria block buster Triennial exhibition.
With the likes of Tracey Emin, Sheila Hicks, David Shrigley and more, the program also includes contemporary work that traverses art, design and culture and will feature more than 25 new projects commissioned by the NGV.’
As a special guest of Vogue Australia for tonight’s annual NGV Gala, the black tie affair that launches the year’s major exhibition, Lee will wear one of two Schiaparelli looks flown in from Paris for her the event from the maison’s fall ‘23 debut ready-to-wear collection.
Previous guests at the gala have included Nicole Kidman and Shalom Harlow.
For Lee there is a certain potency in wearing a Schiaparelli piece.
“There’s something very powerful about putting on his clothes because they’re so structured. It’s like they hold you in this way that makes you feel supported and that makes you feel powerful. It’s like you’re being held by his clothing,” she says.
Lee, who is based in London and will also attend the 2023 GQ Men of the Year Awards in association with BOSS in Bondi on Wednesday, will attend the gala with her dad.
“My dad’s my hero, so it is great to have him there with me. And he’s also great at chatting to people he doesn’t know,” she says.
After a quiet year during this year’s SAG-AFTRA strike (which ended on November 9) Lee is excited to talk about her forthcoming project, Horizon: an American Saga, an epic saga set in the American West in the lead-up and aftermath of the Civil War, directed by Kevin Costner.
“I mean that was a wild phone call to get. I basically got a phone call from my agent saying that Kevin Costner wanted to send me something to read and then he wanted to speak to me,” she says.
“I was shooting Waco at the time. I read the script instantly and I spoke to him the next day and he asked me if I’d like to come and work with him. And obviously I said, ‘absolutely, I want to come work with you’. And I got to ride horses and work with Kevin and be in a beautiful part of Utah and it was a really magical experience.”
Post the NGV Gala and GQ Men of the Year Lee is looking forward to spending time with her family over the festive season.
“Every year I get a house for the family and the whole family spends a week in Torquay or Barwon Heads so that we can be by the water, because my whole family loves the water but they all live in the city. So that’s my favourite thing too. My sister has three kids and they’re just the absolute joy of my life. I love, love, love spending time with them and they’re all a bit wild, so they keep me on my toes.”
THE NGV Triennial runs from Dec 3 to Apr 7 2024.
