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From Russia with Love

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Miss Leonovich surrounded by her muses.

It was during fashion week that SCV caught up with the doyen of ephemeral, lust, gluttony and superlative desire Katya Leonovich.
Infusing her sensibilities for the visual and textural, an artist and commonly perceived fashion designer in her own right we were inspired to ask the Russian born artist, Parisian emigrate what had inspired her channeling her sumptuousness to our NY shores.
Winner of various designer contests in her native Moscow, and having participated in some of Paris haute couture shows and now showing her fusion for art and dress at Chelsea’s ‘Monkdogz Gallery,’ SCV was prone to discover this particular femme fatale’s benediction. True to form, Miss Leonovich was unapologetic about her transgressions and even boasted about them. All in all, she is the type of soul that SCV will always have an affinity for.
SCV; Why NY?

Katya; Why not? It’s perfect. It’s obvious to me that I belong here. It is a jungle and I am a hunter.

SCV; What do you hunt?

Katya; What ever I feel like. (pause). A Hollywood melodrama would suit me well. If one wants to they can be their own star, director and even promoter.

SCV; What informs your sensibilities?

Katya; The smell of the jungle. I have always been seduced by the dramatic, the esoteric, the unpredictable composition of nature and of course history. History is everywhere. It’s true what goes round, has gone round will come round.

SCV; Hence the concept of the seven deadly sins?

Katya; Yes, I think the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning. It’s been that way forever, and who are we to resist it? We can only interpret it, feel it, own up to it. For me there is no clear directive, life if you want like art can be an illusion, isn’t that why the movies are so popular? So I have decided to marry art, the design, the feel, the texture with not only how we feel about ourselves but how we can actually look for ourselves.

SCV; When you say the unpredictable composition of nature, what does that mean to you?

Katya; I like my clothes to reflect the random flows of nature, the organic heaps that one randomly comes across. Gold, silver, vibrant colors but with no particular meaning, flowers if you like, train wrecks too.

SCV; How is that conveyed in your work?

Katya; My clothes can be ad hoc, but a purposeful kind of ad hoc, reflective of nature, with untied seams, rugged frayed edges, brilliant flashes of gold, silver, twisted, lassoed denim gowns into high fashion gowns.

SCV; What would you like to establish here in NY?

Katya; My own kind of fame, my own kind of movie deal. I already have Madonna as a client and I think there are many other stars who would like very much to be cast in my own type of movie.

SCV; What’s your favorite type of movie?

Katya; Horror movies. Anything where people would get eaten alive I like, it’s very primitive and so illusory.

SCV; Finally, if you weren’t the star performer that you are what would you come back as?

Katya; Am I allowed to say a serial killer?

SCV; Why not? Even serial killers are obliged to perform.


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