Find Out How This British Designer Went From A Career In Theater And Fashion To Design
Prolific designer Lee Broom creates cutting-edge products that explore innovation yet have a classic quality and are inspired by the past. Born in Birmingham in 1976, he started as a child actor on TV and in theater and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His father, a talented artist, taught him how to draw and paint. After winning a fashion design competition at the age of 17, he interned under Vivienne Westwood and studied at the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London. He discusses his debut and making the transition from theater and fashion design to furniture and interiors.
The living room of the Lee Broom Penthouse in New York
You were born in Birmingham in 1976. Tell me about your background, your parents and what your childhood was like. Did any of your family members work in design? How, when and why did you realize you wanted to build things and get into design?
My father is a talented artist, and I remember him teaching me how to draw and to paint. I loved architecture and I loved drawing, but later on as a teenager, I became more interested in fashion design, Although I spent my childhood training as an actor and later focusing on a career in fashion, I have always loved design and I cannot remember any point of my life where I have not drawn or sketched.
How did you go from theater and fashion design to furniture and interiors, and how do these interests inform your work today?
As you mention, I trained as a professional actor as a child until I was 17, and later developed an interest in a career in fashion. I entered and won a competition at 17 called Young Designer of the