Base camp. Thursday, 9:30 a. m...
Humberto Leon wears all vintage from James Veloria Los Angeles: Dirk Bikkembergs vintage jacket, vintage T-shirt, vintage Helmut Lang pants, Martine Rose shoes. “He is literally, like, mother, I don’t know how to say it otherwise,” Lara Raj, the 18-year-old singer of Katseye who is fr...
The Katseye members, ranging in age from 16 to 22, see Leon as their fashion fairy godfather. For some, Leon’s name and work will conjure the image of a true fashion and culture insider. He is the co-founder of the decade-defining boutique and brand Opening Ceremony with longtime bestie a...
We’re on the way to El Floridita in Hollywood when Daniela FaceTimes her mom from the van with no headphones. She tells her that she’s on her way to get photographed at a Cuban restaurant known for its ropa vieja and salsa nights. Daniela’s mother is Cuban and was an award-winning ballroom d...
After the pandemic, when he moved back to his hometown of L. A. , Leon began to reflect on what he’d done in his 30-plus-year career and what he wanted to do next...
“He already gets it,” Daniela says about working with Leon. “He already knows exactly what to put me in. ” “I was constantly trying to tell a story about something other than fashion,” he says...
Manon wears Comme des Garçons top, Hodakova pants, Prada shoes, vintage jewelry. In choosing this shoot location for Manon, Leon wanted an L. A...
“We’re a global girl group so we want to make sure that everyone can represent their heritage, where they’re from,” Manon says. “For me, I really take pride in my hair. I love to switch up my hair...
The video got the attention of Geffen, which pitched the idea for the “Dream Academy” to Leon. “What excited me the most is that it didn’t feel like anything that had ever existed,” Leon says about creative directing the contestants, and then Katseye. “An American company, a Korean co...
While the other members eat clouds of cotton candy Leon bought for them off a street vendor, Yoonchae poses gracefully under a gazebo featuring traditional Korean architecture. Yoonchae is in the process of learning English. The culture and atmosphere in L...
At 16, Yoonchae is the youngest member of the group from South Korea. She’s learned about L. A...
The video for their latest single, “Touch,” is chock full of deep-cut symbolism that is individual to each member. The tone feels mystic, mysterious and surreal — a trail of context clues that takes us deeper into Katseye’s universe. Manon reads Nietzsche in one scene where the girls are ...
Sophia is wearing a Nicolas Ghesquière-era Balenciaga blouse with a camo Junya Watanabe skirt and KNWLS boots at Filipino-favorite Lasita in Chinatown. She’s been singing since she was 3 (she’s 21 now) and seems to be always on the precipice of performing, oftentimes breaking out in song or ...
...
Sophia wears Balenciaga top, Junya Watanabe skirt, KNWLS shoes. Sophia explains how the entire experience, from being in “Dream Academy” to now being in the girl group, has challenged notions of who she thought she was and what she thought her look should be. There have been moments whe...
Megan wears Miu Miu dress via Kit Studios, Beeombi pants, vintage necklace. On a brief lunch break, Leon takes the crew to a Chinese restaurant that he grew up going to where I happily eat hot, oily, spicy beef noodle soup on an 85-degree day. Leon tells me he was born in the hospital aroun...
“He actually really helps me a lot when it comes to my own culture and being able to embrace that and show it off,” Megan says of Leon. Megan joined “Dream Academy” when she was 16 (she’s 18 now) — a lot of this process has been about figuring out who she is, growing up in real t...
At the shoot, Megan is posing with a wide stance — baggy Beeombi pants with a Miu Miu dress on top — on Broadway in Chinatown. “I love this outfit,” Leon tells her. She agrees...
Lara wears Tigra Tigra dress, Versace shoes via Kit Studios. At Indian sports bar Pijja Palace, Leon is running around a table in the restaurant, moving a cup two inches back and forth until he’s satisfied. He’s shifting the flowers in the bouquet until it aligns with his internal aesth...
For Leon, opening restaurants with his family was a reminder that energy can transfer. That he could try a new medium but that his special thing — telling stories — would always will its way to the surface. Chifa, the first restaurant his family opened in Eagle Rock, was an homage to their mot...
“The biggest thing that I’ve learned is being able to mold who I am and mold into different concepts,” Lara says. “Becoming more open and multifaceted in my artistry and the way I present myself. ” Being a solo artist was Lara’s dream since she was a toddler — she loved girl gr...
At the end of a shoot day, when everyone is exhausted, hot and ready to call it, Leon and team call Katseye over to share some news: In a couple weeks, they’re going to be on “Good Morning America,” performing their new single, “Touch. ” It was the scream of excitement heard around Koreato...
From left to right: Megan wears Maison Martin Margiela top, SC103 pants, Y-3 shoes; Sophia wears Mimchik jacket, vintage skirt, Miu Miu shoes; Daniela wears Maison Martin Margiela top via James Veloria, Helmut Lang shoes, vintage pants; Lara wears Maison Martin Margiela top via James Veloria, vintag...
...
Photography Andy JacksonStyling Aly CooperCreative direction Humberto LeonVisual direction João MoraesProduction Mere StudiosPhoto assistant Austin DurantStyling assistant Caroline ClarkProp stylist Kailah ArmandMakeup Valerie VonpriskMakeup assistant Selena RuizHair Sully LayoHair assistants Josep...