Houston Designer Brings Her Fashion Magic to the La Colombe d’Or High-Rise

Since launching her eponymous fashion brand in 2019, Houston-based Christy Lynn Lee has met with remarkable success. Her romantic, ephemeral designs are carried in 30 boutiques nationwide including all three Tootsies.Upping her game, she moved her operation little more than two months ago from her home in Montrose to an atelier in La Colombe d’Or Hotel & Residences.

In fact, the lithe talent of South Korean heritage and her husband, Christophe Chung, who runs the numbers for the Christy Lynn label, also left their bungalow to take up residence in the 34-story luxury tower. The commute from home to the workshop is a mere few floors via elevator.

The chic new address opens marketing opportunities for the talent who launched her business initially as a direct-to-consumer capsule. In April, Lee is planning an invitation-only sip-and-shop event in one of the Hines tower’s penthouses. The vast and trés chic community spaces in La Colombe d’Or Residences are ideal for virtually introducing her feminine-inspired designs.

We stopped in on a recent afternoon to find the atelier bustling with assistants, racks of feminine fashions crowding the space with frocks, tops and shorts at the ready for the following day’s photo shoot. We see that lavender florals, gentle plaids and even a gingham check comprise next season’s palette.

The print-driven collection includes an etched floral fabric hand-drawn by Lee’s sister, who works in New York as a designer. Lee intends to introduce one of the charming hand-drawn prints with each season.

With versatility in mind, the collections are crafted from a mix and match combination of cotton sateen, self-launder linen, chiffons for dressing up or down, cotton voile and more. Once off the drawing board, Christy Lynn designs are manufactured in Brooklyn.

The uber feminine looks are designed, Lee says, for the woman who “is elegant, thoughtful, and timeless.”

“A woman’s life is always evolving, exploring new ideas and ways to tell her story,” the designer says. “This collection is meant to be in her closet for years, to be passed down, allowing her to tell our story in her own way.”

Inspiration comes from a variety of sources, Lee allows, “the colors and textures from nature, a pattern from a vintage item or modern décor, or it’s the journey through the everyday that inspires the collections.

“It’s part memoir, part dreamscape. The marriage of these two moments is where the real magic unfolds. I’m always trying to find a balance between design, beauty and function.”

Lee’s design creds are impressive beginning with her bachelors degree in Fine Arts and Apparel from the Rhode Island School of Design. For a dozen years thereafter, she worked for designers including Nanette Lepore and Catherine Malandrino in their heyday, and Elie Tahari.

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