Who is Precious Lee? Here’s What’s Next For The Catwalk Queen…
The supermodel had been representing the beauty of marginalised women in the fashion world for over a decade… but Precious Lee is just getting started
Who is Precious Lee? Bazaar Arabia’s Deputy Editor Jessica Michault sits down with the catwalk powerhouse to talk energy, positivity and her future plans.
Precious Lee has no time for excuses, debates or ticking boxes. She is too busy blazing a path in the fashion world that is so hot and so wide that not only will it be visible for years to come, but the rough terrain can now be more easily walked by future generations. Models who are growing up in a world where a 5’11, darker-skinned curvy black woman can walk in a Versace, Michael Kors or Moschino show, be on a cover of Harper’s Bazaar, star in a perfume campaign for Carolina Herrera or attend the Met gala (multiple times).
But who is Precious Lee?
When we first start chatting, Precious’ mind is elsewhere: on one challenge she can’t seem to win on her own, fixing a bug in her Final Draft software. It’s acting up and she has been on hold with customer service trying to sort it out. “I almost forgot that this interview was happening,” she says with a laugh. “I am writing a script and I’m freaking out right now waiting for them to call me back to help me figure out why it’s not working.”
Deciding to write her own script perfectly embodies what looks to be Precious’ approach to life. She is not waiting for the world to be ready for her, she is her own agent of change. “I realised that it’s just a part of my journey as a human. To continuously shatter outdated institutions. And not just in fashion, but in TV and film and visuals as a whole. I am all about the power of transformative imagery,” she says.
In fact, her style of modelling has always had a more actor-ly “yes and” approach to it. One that goes beyond the classic concept of creating a character for herself when she is on a photo shoot. Precious views her modelling gigs as a collaborative artistic endeavour. She is a team player who will go the extra mile to get the perfect shot.
“I really get into what the energy is that we want to exude to achieve the end result,” she explains. “I’ll be modelling, doing a handstand or outside in the pitch black dark at 2am if necessary, because I get inspired by the projects I work on. When I’m energetically involved the product or the images feel that much more impactful because it’s a collective effort and the energy was there in the making of it.”
Impactful, high energy seems to be Precious’ baseline. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia the daughter of two parents who encouraged her to take up space in the world. Her father Rudy is a businessman and cosmetologist who runs multiple businesses and her mother Anita is a teacher. Their house was a colourful safe haven of positivity that supported creativity and artistic risk-taking. There Precious, alongside her sister Charisma (who died in a car accident while Precious was still in grade school) would often put on performances in the all-white living room, to the delight of her family.
After her sister’s untimely death Precious doubled down on her extracurricular pursuits and her outgoing nature saw her go a bit elective crazy in school. From being a cheerleader and a member of the Girl Scouts to playing the flute in the high school band. Not to mention stints in student government and being part of both the theatre and debate clubs.
“I think everyone has an option when they wake up in the morning to be positive or not. I just always lean into the positive energy. And I want to bring that with me wherever I go. It’s not something I just turn on when I am on a set. I feel grateful that I’m able to share this part of myself with the fashion world. But I do think it’s important that people see that it’s who I was even before I became a model. Modelling has just given me a bigger platform to express it,” says Precious.
“I realised that it’s just a part of my journey as a human to continuously shatter outdated institutions”
Precious Lee
One place that she has been able to show off that positivity has been through her long-standing collaboration with the size-inclusive luxury clothing brand Marina Rinaldi. It’s a partnership that Precious is particularly proud of because of the way the brand has encouraged fashion designers like Marco de Vincenzo, Roksanda Ilinčić, Fausto Puglisi and Antonio Berardi to design capsule collections with the label that makes it possible for plus-size fashionistas to wear designer driven outfits.
“You know, as a size 14/16 model, to be able to work with a retailer that has been producing beautiful clothing for women my size for such a long time… well it’s a no-brainer to want to collaborate with them,” she confirms. “I’ve always respected the quality of the product and the images that Marina Rinaldi creates. And I love to collaborate with people who have a deeper intention of providing beautiful clothing for women of different sizes. And with Marina Rinaldi it’s been something that’s embedded in the DNA of the company,” she adds. Pointing out that another aspect that drew her to the brand was its choice of using top-tier fabrics and materials to design the garments. “I am a fabric girl, I love colours and textures and having good quality pieces in extended sizes, that’s just so important,” she says.
At 32 years old Precious still sees a long future for herself in modelling. But just like in high school where she tested out different passions, she has no intention of putting all her creative eggs in one basket. She has already had a small acting role last year in the TV series Run the World but she is self-aware enough to know that roles for women of her stature don’t grow on trees. This is exactly why she is taking her future into her own hands. She already has three different scenarios in her head of Marvel characters that she would love to revamp. Noting that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has yet to introduce a curvy superhero. “I flipped the script in the world of modelling and I plan on flipping the script [in Hollywood] too. That’s my goal,” she says with determination in her voice. Now all she needs is for Final Draft’s customer service to get back to her.
Images: Catwalkpix, supplied images
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s September 2022 issue.