Fashion Stylist / Editor / Educator / Spokesperson / Writer Fashion Show Coordinator / Commentator / Wardrobe Planner and Personal Shopper

Ionia Dunn Lee is more than well prepared for the fashion career she began perfecting at age eight in her hometown of Oakland, California. It was there that her mother, a home economics teacher, taught her to sew. A little more than a decade later, she was walking the runways of New York, an experience that today allows her to understand and offer the pampering and reassurance models and celebrities sometimes need during photo, video and television shoots. Dunn-Lee's swift and smart move from the runways to the editorial pages as the fashion editor of ESSENCE magazine provided her with the ability to bring someone else's vision to reality. Her experience as a college professor keeps her aware of the importance of education. Twenty-five years plus of fashion experience is what Dunn Lee brings to each assignment, and experience is what keeps her standing out in a field that has suddenly been "discovered" by former sales clerks and buyers.

For a decade Dunn Lee set trends for both clothing and accessories as the fashion editor for ESSENCE magazine. Here she created the monthly fashion concepts, wrote and edited fashion copy, conducted photo sessions and gave seasonal trend presentations for staff and potential advertisers. It was also at ESSENCE that Dunn Lee honed her public speaking skills by making television appearances, representing the magazine at community events, guest lecturing and leading seminars.

Dunn Lee's creativity has been seen in national and international magazines, fashion and beauty catalogues, advertising campaigns, on national television, music videos and live performances. Her versatility is seen in the work she has done with such diverse talent as Grace Jones, Nancy Wilson, Billy Dee Williams, Heavy D. Kathleen Battle, Cassandra Wilson, and Queen Latifah. She teaches fashion courses as the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (LIM). She also serves as a Contributing Fashion Editor and Writer for The Ave Magazine, a progressive urban life style magazine targeting men and women ages 18 to 35.

Leadership also play a major role in the life of this mother of four sons, three of which have followed in her footsteps. She is the person who initiated the Essence/LIM (Laboratory Institute of Merchandising) Scholarship Program, which provided an eligible student with $2,000 toward fashion studies. It was her idea and follow-through that brought about the collaboration between Essence and the Butterick Pattern Company; and it was Dunn Lee who initiated and developed the Essence/Hoechst/Celanese Summer Fashion Fabric Promotion, a video produced for use as a selling tool for the African American market.

"In today's marketplace the importance of projecting the right image is recognized more than ever before. And because of this recognition, there is a greater need for the professional image makers," states Dunn Lee. "I am now using all my experience to teach young fashion students the level of professionalism needed to be successful in this area of the fashion industry, and to enlighten and raise the level of fashion awareness of the readers and clients that I serve," she concludes.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

THE AVE MAGAZINE, New York, NY   2006 to present
Contributing Fashion Editor & Writer

FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY   1999 to present
Adjunct Professor - Fashion Styling - Photography Department

LABORATORY INSTITUTE OF MERCHANDISING   2006 to present
Adjunct Professor - Fashion Show Production - Fashion Forecasting - Fashion History

ESSENCE MAGAZINE (Division Of Time Inc.), New York, NY  (1974 to 1990 on staff)    2001 - 2006
Fashion Editor
Cover all fashion markets, domestic and global, for monthly fashion stories in Essence Magazine.
Upgraded the image of the magazine through complete coverage of all markets with appropriate for monthly stories.
Present seasonal written trend reports and weekly fashion news, as well as fashion market reports.
Travel domestically and globally.
Developed relationships with and provide a written and visual report on emerging designers and other fashion resources (vendors and designers).
Contribute to story ideas, concepts and supply visual and written material to support these ideas.
Developed an in-depth knowledge of current fashion resources, globally.
Utilize more than 30 years of styling experience.
Styling fashion images presented in the magazine.

FREELANCE STYLIST, EDITOR AND EDUCATOR    1991 - 2001