Katya Leonovich Fall 2016

 Does the fashion as art aesthetic have real retail value? This argument has been bandied back in forth in fashion circles for decades. And while some designers have opted for the fashion as commerce approach to design that can render huge financial rewards, there are those designers that follow their own drummer and create collections that are exquisite works of wearable art. Katya Leonivich is one such designer.

For fall 2016, Katya Leonovich was inspired by a hurricane witnessed while on vacation in Bermuda. The whirling and swirling miasma of hurricane storms are evidenced in garments that digitally printed with whirling winds and waves, the lost faces of children and animals, and hurricane-like turbulence.

Leonovich, season after season, has defined her brand’s DNA as a design aesthetic that is an edgy, out of the box perspective that places beauty and creative craftsmanship above mass merchandizing. This season Leonovich’s “Bisected Beauty” collection was a compilation of  pared down avant-garde looks and leaned toward garments that are more wearable. Still, Leonovich did not sacrifice her brand’s DNA for a fall 2016 collection that might have more consumer appeal. In fact, this fashion outing should expand her consumer demographic.

The fashion as art aesthetic is still front and center.  Leonovich presented her fall 2016 collection as an art installation with her hurricane paintings as a backdrop to the collection. A burgundy ostrich feathered long couture gown served as the centerpiece of the installation that consisted of garments on silver metallic mannequins.

The most exciting addition of the fashion installation/presentation was the debut of Leonovich’s menswear pieces which consisted of beautifully tailored to perfection jackets made of neoprene, black pony, leather, and fox fur. The pieces are classic, versatile, edgy, yet still remain true to the playful nature of the brand’s DNA, but in a perfectly toned down approach. Bravo Katya!!

—William S. Gooch