Humberto Leon (born June 7, 1975) is an American fashion designer, retailer and creative director, working in partnership with Carol Lim. He is currently the creative director for the Los Angeles based girl group

Katseye Katseye (pronounced "cat's eye"; stylized in all caps) is a girl group based in Los Angeles, California. The group is composed of six members: Manon, Sophia, Daniela Avanzini, Daniela, Lara, Megan, and Yoonchae. With members from the Philippi ...

, aiding in the group's style, image, branding, and fashion. Leon and Lim founded the fashion retailer

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

in 2002 in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

. Further stores followed in New York City, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. An Opening Ceremony store opened in 2012 in London, coinciding with the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

. In 2011, Lim and Leon were announced as creative directors of the French high fashion brand Kenzo, which was founded in 1970 and is part of the

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good (economics), good for which demand (economics), demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of ove ...

conglomerate. In July 2019 the pair departed Kenzo.

Life and career

Born to a Peruvian father and Chinese seamstress mother, Leon grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles as the youngest in a tight-knit family. After completing graduation, Leon worked in the corporate sector for a decade, serving as design director at American clothing retailer Gap. Consequently, he worked at

Burberry Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...

, during the start of its renaissance under the administration of Rose Marie Bravo. In early 2001, at age 25, Lim and Leon went on a two-week trip to Hong Kong. There, they were inspired to open a store in the United States upon their return. Its concept was to bring brands such as Havaianas and

Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British online fast-fashion retailer, which specialises in women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It is majority owned by Danish company, Bestseller. In 2024, ASOS sold 75% of Topshop and Topman to Bests ...

to the United States and to feature emerging American fashion brands such as

Proenza Schouler Proenza Schouler is a womenswear and accessories brand founded in New York City in 2002 by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. In October 2024 Proenza Schouler appointed Shira Suveyke Snyder as chief executive officer, succeeding Kay ...

, Alexander Wang, and

Rodarte Rodarte () is an American brand of clothing and accessories founded and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, USA, by sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy. Rodarte has received a number of fashion industry awards since the line's inception in 20 ...

. After considering various names (including Airport and Terminal), the two founders finally settled upon Opening Ceremony. Leon and Lim went to the New York State Small Business Development Center at SUNY for assistance in refining their business plan and obtaining a business loan, and each contributed $10,000 of their own money towards Opening Ceremony. In July 2011, Kenzo parent company LVMH announced the appointment of Humberto Leon as co-co-creative director of the brand. Leon and Lim's debut collection was in 2012. The first collection was inspired by upstate New York and the painter

Ellsworth Kelly Ellsworth Kelly (May 31, 1923 – December 27, 2015) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting, Color field painting and minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing line, col ...

. Lim and Leon are credited with reinventing the label—which had been in steady decline since Kenzo Takada's departure in 1999—by injecting a youthful exuberance and sensibility into its clothing. Their modern approach to design and communications has paved the way for the brand's revival in recent years. Leon was a member of the

Council of Fashion Designers of America The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessor ...

and an advisor to

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

. Leon and Lim departed from their role at Kenzo in June 2019 to focus on Opening Ceremony.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Humberto American fashion designers American company founders 1975 births Living people California people in fashion LGBTQ fashion designers American LGBTQ businesspeople American fashion designers of Chinese descent American people of Peruvian descent Artists from Los Angeles LGBTQ people from California LVMH people University of California, Berkeley alumni 21st-century American businesspeople Creative directors

Life and career

See also

References