Meet Jesse Lee

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jesse Lee. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jesse , thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us today. We’re excited to dive into your story and your work, but first let’s start with a broader topic that might be stopping many of our readers from pursuing their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. How have you managed to persist despite haters and nay-sayers that inevitably follow folks who are doing something unique, special or off the beaten path?

Over the course of my lifetime, I have encountered people who would simply pick at me for being who I am, for having green eyes, for my close bond with my mother, for how other people can easily connect with me. It is something that sometimes makes you think “wow some of us are really born to be envied for simply existing. Envied for the things we played no part in being like genetics”. A lot of this hate came from mostly other males at school, high school and at home with my brothers. Growing up was rough, I was constantly bullied and sometimes still am but growing up in such a tough situation where many would even take their own lives or runaway, I instead developed a thick skin, a “Don’t mess with me” attitude that many who saw my struggles admired. I wouldn’t be who I am today without those struggles. I am a compassionate person. Though I can wage war, I am a peace seeker and prefer to be friendly and respectful to everyone around me. My haters nowadays just fuel me. While they say crazy things about me, I only laugh and use that thorn to keep pushing towards my goals. Currently I’ve been modeling and fashion designing. I’ve done SO much in just a year into modeling and fashion designing, my clothing has been featured in magazine outside of the US, I as a model have been published on front covers in many foreign and US magazines. I am all fired up creating and it’s all because of my passion and persistence. The passion and the joy I feel when creating something new and seeing how much others love what I do. I’ve learned that you can never please everyone and you should never focus on pleasing everyone, if you do, your craft will get lost, muddy and you’ll become unhappy. Instead, you should do what you do and your crowd will find you.
To wrap things up I say that you must keep going and you must use the negative said and done to you and transform it into positive energy and understand that many people project who they are on to other people. Unhappy people will treat others poorly. Most times it’s not even about you, and very much it is about them so stay faithful and wise, persevere and reach those goals.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’ve been modeling and fashion designing and it has been such an amazing journey. I’ve modeled internationally recently in Canada and I can’t wait to do more outside of the US. This fashion week season was insane, I booked many shows and I am really proud of myself.
Since 2020 I’ve been painting and designing my artworks on to clothing and just recently I released my first haute couture line this June 2024 and it was really successful. I learned a lot. You can check it out on my Instagram JesseLeeDesignss and website at www.JesseLeeArtworks.com.
I’m currently working on a new collection for Spring 2025. I’m planning on calling it “Celestials”. It’ll focus on spirituality and Royalty but it’ll also have a few other themes in it too.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three things you need in this industry and in society in general is individualism. You must know who you are, you must have your own stance on things. If you’re constantly being overly influenced by others, you’ll lose yourself. You also need perseverance because it is what will create a “thick skin” for you on the long run, And finally you need faith in God and in yourself to know you aren’t alone and that you can go really far when you are determined and passionate.

My advice for anyone is JUST DO IT, do SOMETHING, start SOMETHING, many have so many dreams but are scared to begin the walk. I was one of those too but one day I woke up and decided to do it. You won’t get anywhere without action. You must present yourself out there and network, meeting people is essential. You never know who’s in the room and who will be willing to give you a chance or an opportunity, who will become a friend that will guide you.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I love collaborations, creating projects, bouncing ideas with others. I’m usually looking for people who would like to model for my clothing line for editorials and other projects or models who would like to model with me as a model. I’m also constantly looking for talented photographers whose vision aligns with mine. I like to do things with a purpose, if I work on an editorial, I want it published somewhere, so finding people who want the same, is always great.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.jesseleeartworks.com
• Instagram: JesseLeeDesignss and I.am.JesseLee (personal model page)
• Other: https://jesse-lee.kavyar.site/

Image Credits

Photos were taken by :
JuiceTV
Mang Kiko
Joseph Simpson
Kynan Photography
Mr.Good Arte

Models are:
Danai Avloniti
Maro Dēlo
Dakota Rain Joynes
Rahki
Ibra
Asia Cleveland
Sean Murphy
Eden Dugger
Jesse Lee