In the Studio with Leo...
... there’s never a dull moment. Try to keep up. Textiles, apparel, jewelry, home goods … the common link is Leo’s creative wellspring and vision. The veteran fashion oracle has worked with everyone from Marissa Berenson to Lucille Ball to Richard Avedon to your neighbor down the street who wants to wear something that makes her feel great about herself. And Leo continues to mentor the latest and greatest students from RISD, his alma mater, when he’s not pioneering the next fashion concept for Narducci Design.
To catch up with Leo if you can, take a look at his visit with the Rhode Island Art Archive Project
I always wanted to be a fashion designer...
"As a child, from the time I saw my first musical, my first movie, I was always fascinated by fashion and clothing.
My mentors started with me early. My aunt, who was my babysitter, put the first pencil in my hand. She never studied pattern making but she would make her daughter, my cousin, all her clothes. She’d lay the fabric on the dining room table, fold in half and just cut, and sew it.
I was always fascinated by that. By the time I was in junior high school I could do that."
-Leo
I think the artist should be true to him or herself ...
"... That’s a big responsibility. Not to self-indulge but to lay out the ideas in a palatable way for people who are going to be viewing it and wearing it. Not to make something ridiculous. I’m referring to clothing but I think in many ways art can be a little more daring than clothing.”
-Leo