Artist Spotlight: Harwood Lee

Harwood Lee is a southern gentleman with a good old boy side to him. His work ranges from strictly good fashion to absurdly funny to so-adult-we-can't-show-you-here. His sense of play and imagination seems boundless.

He has an impressive roster of clients: Ricky Martin, Walt Disney Co., Old Navy, Britney Spears, and Levi Strauss — but he still enjoys making something outrageous for himself and his friends.

In his own words, a little about Harwood:

"The first time I made a costume was age 7. I wanted a casual angel costume for my treehouse, made from a white pillow case, 2 wire hangers, pillow stuffing, and some tape. I was in Heaven!

"Dressing up and making costumes continued through out my life in phases. It has always been a way for me to express creativity. It is my passion and my profession. During the past few years I have been making unusual pieces for a touring circus, primarily a study of human anatomy and reptile parts. All these pieces can be mixed and matched to create different characters, a sort of Garanimals approach to costuming. Today, I make unusual pieces and wardrobe for TV commercials, music videos, and installations. I still love what I do and love learning new techniques.

"If asked about a dream costume job I would say it would be to create the costumes for a remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I would do it futuristic reptile."

You can contact Harwood at his recently formed company Commercial Costuming. Many of the costumes here were photographed by Steve Willis (you can see his outrageous website here.)

And you might enjoy tracking Harwood's exploits on his Facebook page (we certainly do.)

See the following pages for more of his work and some great video.