In 2022, Humberto Leon was presented with the opportunity to become the creative director of K-pop-inspired international girl group Katseye. He recalls that moment as one of “blind faith.”
As the story goes, the former creative director of Kenzo and co-founder of Opening Ceremony moved to Los Angeles during the pandemic and opened a restaurant with his family. He was tasked with overseeing the design and marketing — and saw how it became an extension of his expertise in storytelling.
“I remember people coming in and saying, ‘Oh my God, this feels like Opening Ceremony in a restaurant [form],'” he tells Fashionista. “I was like, okay, I’m having the same conversations that I’ve had at Opening Ceremony, just in a new place. And my nerdiness about the music, the bathrooms, the flowers and everything else, there was a flow that everything had to have…I realized that I could take that feeling and thought process of wanting to storytell and be authentic to these other things.”
Photo: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images
A couple of years ago, Leon lent his hand for storytelling to music: He directed the music video “Growing Up” by The Linda Lindas, which then caught the attention of Geffen Records. He received a call from Michelle An, the label’s executive vice president and head of visual creative, who offered him a creative director position with a new girl group.
He was invited to the L.A-based Dream Academy — a yearlong training and competition program for which 20 girls were chosen to partake in a K-pop-style boot camp. Of the 20 finalists, six were selected to “debut” and form an international girl group, now known as Katseye. (The audition and development process was documented in Netflix’s “The Debut: Dream Academy.”) Leon’s offer came while the Dream Academy was still recruiting its 20 finalists.
“It’s interesting because when you think about what we now know as “Dream Academy” and Katseye, to explain that to somebody in words without seeing anything is a convoluted sentence,” he laughs. “The first thing that they said was, ‘We’re doing this global girl group and they’re going through the K-pop methodology, but it’s going to be pop and K-pop; it’s both Geffen and [South Korean multinational entertainment company] Hybe; and it’s east and west.’ It was a lot to take in because there was no precedence for this.”
So he “went with [his] gut” and took the job. From his first week, Leon took the opportunity to get to know the trainees on a one-on-one basis, including their backgrounds, style aesthetics, makeup choices and personalities. By the time the Katseye members — Sophia Laforteza, Manon Bannerman, Lara Raj, Yoonchae Jeong, Daniela Avanzini and Megan Meiyok Skiendiel — were chosen, Leon established a unique creative approach that highlights the individuality of each girl.
Photo: Courtesy of Hybe x Geffen Records
Most importantly, given the group’s cultural diversity — Sophia is Filipina, Manon is Swiss, Lara is American (ethnically Indian), Yoonchae is South Korean, Daniela is American (ethnically Venezuelan-Cuban) and Megan is Hawaiian (ethnically Singaporean-Chinese) — Leon infuses “cultural hints” into each of their outfits. With Lara, for example, he finds “the coolest ways” to use a Bindi.
“Sometimes we’ll build a Bindi, and other times she’ll have some that her mom gave her,” he shares. “I always love [celebrating] a piece of [the girls]. When we shot the album [“SIS (Soft is Strong)”], Lara brought her mom’s full Indian jewelry to set in a suitcase and we incorporated it, whatever we could. So, we definitely know the silhouettes we try to go with, and then we try to build within the silhouettes this string of individuality.”
It makes sense then that there’s not a specific style aesthetic Katseye abides by as a whole, though there’s certainly a late-’90s and Y2K energy the group exudes — as seen in their many low-rise pants, cami tanks, baby tees, crop tops and baggy jeans. Leon also turns to those cultural eras for inspiration: Muses like Devon Aoki and Chloë Sevigny, older films by Gregg Araki and Sofia Coppola and ’90s and early-2000s editorial shoots from Dutch and Self Service all make the mood board.
But he also loves challenging the girls to play with different styles and proportions.
Photo: Courtesy of Hybe x Geffen Records
“One day a member will say, ‘I only like low-rise and flare,’ but then I’ll say, ‘Let’s try something different and totally new.’ At the end of the day, I want them to feel great. It’s always about making sure they feel confident, good and secure. I want [their clothes] to be second skin for them,” he explains.
What is a constant, however, is Leon’s dedication to pulling vintage pieces, including Nicholas Ghesquière-era Balenciaga, John Galliano-era Dior and Wilbert Das-era Diesel. It aligns with Katseye’s preference for sustainability, and Leon’s love for fashion history: He’ll borrow archival clothing, pull from the Warner Brothers costume department or have the girls wear items from their own closet. The group’s fans have taken note.
“It’s about: How do we mix all this up so that we’re bringing new things to the table?” he says. “In K-pop fandoms, the fans really break down outfits. I’m always curious about the Eyekons — their fandom — on how well their fashion history is. And honestly, they surprise me all the time. For the ‘Touch’ music video we put Manon in this Plein Sud dress from the ’90s, and they knew what it was.”
He’ll also mix in both established designers (think: Maison Margiela, Prada and Miu Miu) and emerging ones such as Knwls and Conner Ives, plus “young designers now ruling the fashion landscape” like Jonathan Anderson, Glenn Martens, Simon Porte Jacquemus, Marine Serre and Martine Ali. He calls the diverse blend a “perfect balance of brands.”
Photo: Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images
“It’s cool for Katseye to be at the forefront of supporting young designers because I do know, coming from the fashion world, how important that can be for young designers,” he shares. “I want to build the ultimate closet for them. If you were to look at all that wardrobe together, it’s the ultimate wardrobe. There’s a little bit of DIY, there’s a bit of young designer, there’s luxury. But to me, the most exciting is the collectible, vintage luxury, and then a bunch of young designers in there.”
Getting brands to work with unknown artists can sometimes be a battle for stylists, but that hasn’t really been the case for Leon and Katseye. “I’ve been blessed because early on, even before the public knew who they were, certain brands were on board really quick,” he confesses. “That was really exciting because it was a sign of faith knowing that something I was working on would be great, even though they have no idea what it is.” He credits designers’ willingness to collaborate to his long-established industry relationships.
That’s not to say that Leon hasn’t faced challenges. Any creative director — no matter how seasoned — must walk a fine line between cohesion and individuality when working with a group. And with Katseye being one-of-a-kind, there’s no blueprint to work off of. As Leon tells it, though, this allows a special creative freedom to position them as a girl group like no other.
Photo: Courtesy of Hybe x Geffen Records
His extensive background in fashion helps with this task: “Fashion is the ultimate school. It’s one of the hardest professions, and the pace of it is unprecedented…Style and taste are very personal things and to have to predict its future, it’s a very interesting job. So I always think anybody who’s gone through the fashion system, you almost have the ultimate training in terms of branding and in terms of seeing what’s next.”
Going into 2025, Leon is excited to see Katseye further infiltrate the fashion world. The group already made its first fashion week appearance sitting front row at the Coach Spring 2025 show. They’ve also graced the cover of InStyle and landed interviews with Teen Vogue, Elle Singapore and Hypebae. Further down the line, luxury brand ambassadorships for the members also seem promising.
“Having been on the other side when I was creative director at Kenzo and wanting to find that perfect representation for a luxury brand, I feel like these girls are honestly the perfect representation of the future,” says Humberto. “They represent something so cool, knowing them and what they stand for. People would be lucky to have them represent their brand.”
Source: Fashionista.com