Who is Katseye’s creative director, Humberto Leon, whom Lara Raj called ‘mother’?
He worked with Kenzo, Burberry and Gap before meeting designer Carol Lim and launching Opening Ceremony, a brand once loved by Rihanna and Chloë Sevigny
Humberto Leon may be best known in fashion circles as the co-founder of Opening Ceremony and former co-creative director of Kenzo, but in recent years, the multi-hyphenate has expanded his creative universe far beyond the runway. Now 50, Leon has not only added restaurateur to his ever-evolving résumé, but he is also the creative director for Katseye, the breakout girl group behind chart-toppers like “Gnarly” and “Touch”.
“He is literally, like, mother – I don’t know how to say it otherwise,” said Raj during an interview with the LA Times about the girl group’s relationship with Leon.
Here’s everything you need to know about Humberto Leon.
Humberto Leon has been working in fashion since he was 14
Leon was born to a Peruvian-Chinese father and a Chinese seamstress mother and grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles.
He began his fashion journey at 14, working as a sales clerk at The Gap at the Santa Anita mall. By 15, he was decorating windows for the stores and would go on to work in corporate roles for the clothing retailer throughout his time as an art practice and American studies student at the University of California, Berkeley, according to The Creative Independent.
In an interview with the outlet, Leon revealed how there were several times while working for The Gap when he thought he was done with the retail world and would move on to something else, but kept getting offered new roles for the company, including overseeing the kids and baby department for Old Navy.