Emotion, experience, and intuition are the underpinnings of Leana Sterlina’s collections. Leana Sterlina puts emotional experience at the forefront of every design. A carefully curated collection of new and vintage objects convey her concept through a process known as bricolage. In an almost romantic horror-esque manner, she “frankensteins” the objects into a new design that becomes the core of her streamlined collections.
Sterlina’s hometown in South Brooklyn, New York provides an everlasting amount of inspiration for her creations. She describes Brooklyn as sad but beautiful, fun but dangerous, old but new. The tattered nature of Brooklyn— particularly the vibrant and faded graffiti that covers the worn brick and concrete—speaks to the sublime meeting of the emotional and natural worlds. Imperfect beauty is entrenched in Sterlina’s approach to design often following a process of questioning: “Is it too pretty? Is it too rugged?” She strikes a balance between beauty and imperfection through the combined spontaneity of draping and precision of tailoring. The draped designs are further refined through digital collaging and sketching. The dissolution of existing objects into something new as conjured up by the vastness of the imagination gives rise to sublimity— the root of dark romanticism. She subverts common notions of beauty that are ever-evolving. In the words of Burke, an 18th century philosopher whose works Sterlina uses as a source of inspiration, “The Beautiful is that which is well-formed and aesthetically pleasing, whereas the Sublime is that which has the power to compel and destroy us.”
The forms and structures of Leana Sterlina’s collections often echo deeper sensibilities seeded with political persuasions. Sterlina’s most recent collection delves into the internal and external worlds of an eating disorder. She closely collaborates with a model, two musicians, and a studying psychologist to tell their story as well as her own. Through her interviewees’ donated clothing (that remind them of their eating disorder) and found objects, she develops her collection emotionally-charged collection. The silhouettes disrupt the mainstream yet unrealistic portrayals of body positivity. Sterlina believes that as much as positivity is vital to a thriving society, excessive optimism can lead to a falsely positive society. The intuitive selection of color and shape showcase the inherent compelling aspects of an eating disorder coupled with its dark and poignant reality.
Some of Leana Sterlina’s more recognized influences include Alexander McQueen, Galliano, Gaultier, and Vivienne Westwood, Rick Owens, Balmain, and Dolce & Gabanna. Among the up-and-coming designers she looks to Ottolinger, Demobaza, Haram, and Kristen Mallison for their deconstructed approach to design.
