— Jennifer JJ Lee, Founder of ESQUE/BY“Fit is personal. Clothing should be, too.”
ESQUE/BY was founded in New York after JJ helped her mother, Lily, adapt her wardrobe following a mastectomy. The experience shaped a different approach to fit: start with the individual.
What began with bespoke tailoring now informs our Ready-to-Wear, bringing considered fit, thoughtful construction and room to change to a modern women’s wardrobe.
Fashion Is a Collective Act.
No ESQUE/BY garment is the work of one person. Each begins with an idea and passes through the hands of designers, patternmakers, technical designers, cutters, sewists and specialist makers, each bringing a different expertise to the process.
From our New York studio, factories, and cutting room to fabric mills in Japan and Italy and embroidery artisans in India, many hands shape every ESQUE/BY collection.
Tailoring, Reconsidered.
Born from bespoke, ESQUE/BY brings the principles of traditional tailoring to modern women’s Ready-to-Wear. Designed to fit beautifully today, with room to change tomorrow.
Our Design Language
Sculpted shoulders, defined waists, and elongated lines reinterpret traditional menswear for the female form.
Considered Fit
Years of bespoke fittings inform our approach to proportion, balance, and movement.
Room to Change
Generous seam allowances, hems, and thoughtful construction allow for future alterations where possible.
Bespoke-Informed Craftsmanship
Specialist makers, considered materials, and construction rooted in traditional tailoring.
Impact, by Design.
Impact, for us, begins with how a garment is made. We source materials that meet our standards for quality and care, and collaborate with artisan studios and production partners such as Women Weave, Rajasthan Exports, Nila House and IroIro Zero Waste, many of which are women-led or create economic opportunity for women.
In New York, we support the Garment District tailors, sewists and makers whose craft has shaped ESQUE/BY from the start.
LILY’S STORY
After a mastectomy following breast cancer, Lily found that the clothes she had known no longer worked with her body in the same way. Together with her daughter, ESQUE/BY founder Jennifer JJ Lee, she began adapting her wardrobe…