In my younger years, I befriended a virtual stranger (P if you’re out there, say hi! I lost your email in the great Hotmail migration) so we could publicly lose it over Lee Lin Chin’s outfits each week in a blog aptly titled Chinnystyle. Lee Lin has a weird way of bringing people together like that.
To some, Lee Lin’s cult appeal is her meme-able quirk, her ‘who’s that handsome’ moment and beekeeper red carpet looks.
There exists a generation of viewers (myself included) raised on her bulletins since 1992 and we showed our love proudly by making Facebook pages and viral skits.
In the public broadcasting catwalk smackdown our dreams, Lee Lin’s collection of Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons faces off against Margaret Pomeranz’s earrings and Dr.Karl’s shirts (though we know who the clear winner is here).
Lee Lin Chin’s top fashion moments
Choosing my top Lee Lin Chin outfits is not a task I take lightly – every look she debuts in public is an absolute moment. With very careful consideration and much pain, I present to you three looks for the history books.
In this promo for The Feed, Lee Lin artfully fashions a tropical-print sheet into a drapey dress in the vein of Balenciaga Fall 2007. Don’t even bother attempting this one at home.
Why the fashion bloggers didn’t all just take a seat when Lee Lin wore her favourite grey blazer INSIDE OUT on national TV back in 2010 still boggles me.
Burn all your business-chic guides and replace it with this single image of Lee Lin. This sculptural sleeved jacket is truly one of her best moments behind the desk.
To many Asian-Australians, Lee Lin is the most revered Asian success story of white-as-hell Aussie media. Born in Indonesia and educated in Singapore, Lee Lin was one of the only Asian faces we regularly saw on our screens in the 90s, and certainly the only Asian accent we heard on the news without condescending subtitles.
Her accent remained unchanged throughout her career. Perhaps it was her British inflection that protected her from the usual mockery of Asian accents. I’d like to think it was her death stare and a tone that suggested she could crush your spirit in a millisecond.
On weekends when she presented the SBS World News bulletins. Dad would beckon me over as she read through stories of conflict and corruption. “You can be like her one day. Read the news and wear weird clothes,” he’d say, alluding to my nascent interest in journalism and Japanese fashion.
First of all, dad, it’s called avant garde, and second: attempt to carve out a 30-year career as Australia’s staunchest, most fabulously dressed newsreader while simultaneously carrying the journalistic hopes of young Asian-Australians? I’ll get back to you on that one.
Upon announcing her exit from SBS last week, Lee Lin revealed it was the fans that kept her in the role for so long. “Every day at least five people will approach me and say they love me on the news,” she told good friend Sandra Sully in an interview with Ten Daily. It’s true that no other Australian newsreader can boast the vocal and adoring fan club that Lee Lin does.
Lee Lin’s farewell bulletin on Sunday ended on a montage of career highlights – her many self-styled fashion moments included. It was the perfect way to remember the decades in which she’s bucked convention. Dressed in jackets like Zaha Hadid buildings and armour-like tulle vests, Lee Lin has navigated a career without compromise. Thank you, Lee Lin. I can only hope to buy you a beer one day.
