In 1995, Michael Leva began providing consulting services to the Miki Corporation, a Japanese company. This collaboration proved to be financially rewarding and relatively hassle-free, as Leva stated in an interview with Constance C.R. White of The Times. He explained, “I used to make no profit when I worked independently, but now I make good money.”
Michael Leva was born on January 15, 1961, in Denville, New Jersey, and grew up in Morristown. His father, James, held an executive position in an electric utility company, while his mother, Marie (Marinaro) Leva, was a homemaker and a middle school librarian.
Initially, Leva intended to pursue landscape architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. However, during his first year, he switched his major to apparel design. In an interview with Vogue in 1989, he expressed his preference for working directly with fabrics and hands-on experiences. Leva stated, “I loved the immediacy of grabbing the fabric, throwing it on the form, pinning it. It’s similar to what I love about gardening: the hands-on experience. Architecture involves extensive planning and drawings, and I gradually lost interest in it.”
Outside of his fashion career, Leva was an enthusiastic and skilled gardener. Even after establishing his fashion business, he would regularly return to his parents’ house in Chester, New Jersey, to work in the garden until sunset. One of his notable achievements was the creation of an all-white perennial garden, which served as inspiration for his highly acclaimed all-white evening collection in the spring of 1990. The collection received praise for its elegant fabrics and flowing lines, as reported by The Times.
Following the closure of his business, Leva pursued opportunities as a branding and design consultant for various companies, including Macy’s, J.Jill, Victoria’s Secret, Casual Corner, and Christopher Burch’s short-lived retail venture, C. Wonder. He also collaborated with Nancy Parker on the book “Recipes for Parties” (2014), a guide to entertaining. In 2018, Leva relocated to Rhode Island and delivered lectures at the Rhode Island School of Design.
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