KD New York began with two humble knitting machines on a folding card table.

At the time, David Lee was a dancer in California. One quiet afternoon, he sat down beside his then-partner, Trish, to help her finish a pair of leg warmers – and to learn the basics of machine knitting. That small project sparked the beginning of something much bigger. What started as a way to stay warm in rehearsals grew into a brand that would reshape dance and yoga apparel from the inside out.

Together, they created a collection of wrap sweaters, bodysuits, leggings, and other essentials – knitwear made specifically for their dance and yoga communities. At the time, no one else was offering real performance pieces in rich colors and exceptional quality. David was constantly on the move, performing across California, and when he moved to the East Coast, he packed the entire collection into his car. Studio by studio, he introduced the line in person – one dancer, one teacher, one community at a time.

“I was selling to the dance world I already belonged to.”

What began in the studio quickly grew beyond it. Dancers and instructors were the first to embrace KD New York, then came the yoga community, and soon after, early adopters drawn to the feel of natural fibers and the function of well-constructed knitwear. KD New York also became one of the first in its category to sell online, a pioneer in ecommerce at a time when few had made the leap.

From the beginning, David believed in making things himself. That philosophy shaped every part of the business – from keeping production in-house to developing proprietary yarns for the brand’s exclusive use. One of the earliest successes was a custom blend of cashmere and synthetic fiber, loved for its softness and performance. When the mill stopped producing it, David unsuccessfully tried to find a replacement — so he made his own.

That challenge sparked the creation of Vegetable Cashmere, a proprietary plant-based yarn made from soy protein. “I’ve been a vegetarian most of my life,” David says. “And the more I researched the cashmere industry, the more I realized we needed another option. Something accessible and sustainable, but still luxurious.”

Vegetable Cashmere was trademarked and integrated into the KD Knit collection. To test the market, the team launched a Kickstarter, and the response immediately validated what David had felt from the beginning — that people were ready for a plant-based alternative.

“We’re trying to move the whole industry forward. Eventually, no one will be able to ignore sustainability. It’s just a question of when.”

Today, KD New York is more than a brand; it’s a material innovator, supplying custom yarns to global fashion companies and expanding into new, unexpected applications. “We’ve spent years gathering feedback, refining the fiber, and building our confidence. Now we’re ready to scale,” he says.

Vegetable Cashmere is just the beginning. David also developed a knitted yoga mat made from plant-based rubber. He’s invested in full life cycle analysis of every material and is pushing for official fiber classification with U.S. Customs and the FTC.

With a new facility opening in the Bronx and a reimagined e-commerce platform underway, KD New York is preparing for its next era. For David, that means staying true to the company’s roots of long development cycles, deep manufacturing knowledge, and clothes that are meant to be lived in.

“We don’t chase trends,” he says. “We just build what we believe in.”