“There are those who wear black, and those who don’t,” Janis Leonard said with a grin and an all black outfit. Leonard is certainly a fan of black; especially those inky garments of Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons. With a preference for pitch-black and the way she constantly wears sunglasses day-or-night, Janis has always been a person of mystery to me. Making brief appearances on rare occasions at particularly chic events, I would see her and mentally applaud her style. With her striking appearance of slicked-back blonde hair, red lips and perfectly-pale skin, her attendance in a room demands observation.

We met at Fred’s for lunch for the interview and her associate of five years, Effie Bouras, joined us. Perfectly poised, Janis had a bite or two of a salad and did so without even smudging her Chanel Noir Vamp lipstick. Throughout the lunch we discussed her home in Berlin and her dear friend, the late Jean-Michel Basquiat. “I loved his ambivalent nature, yet his work spoke volumes regarding his artistic complexity,” she said of Basquiat. We also discussed her creative ventures and role in the Valley.

Janis who had recently hosted the David Yurman store opening and describes herself as a “muse” is undeniably a fan of fashion. When asked what role fashion plays in her life, Leonard replied in a solemn manner: “Fashion is life; it is all encompassing, I see any space I design as a compliment to the people and context it serves, much as fashion does. A dress is a form of a house to me, it also can express your mood- it explains my penchant for sculptural works of wearable art.”

When asked who her favorite designer is to wear, she said: “To name one would do a disservice to another!”. Needless to say, my jaw was on the floor. I was so taken back by this lady in black and endless knowledge of fashion and art.