Jussara Lee

A native Brazilian of Korean heritage, Jussara Lee moved to New York City in 1987 to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Upon graduation, she launched her namesake label of locally produced, hand-tailored clothes, landing at Bergdorf Goodman and other prominent retail stores worldwide. Overwhelmed by the fashion industry’s waste, she has halted production of new clothes and, instead, has been transforming her client’s existing wardrobe using zero-waste techniques. She and her team employ creativity and craftsmanship through hand embroidery, natural dyes, and mending to give garments a new life. Jussara hosts community engagement events about plastic pollution, to which synthetic textiles are a major contributor.