“We Dress the Femme Fatale”

As seen on Rihanna, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Bella Hadid, and other countless celebrities, Lab2022 is the largest privately owned Tom Ford For Gucci collection in the world. Most of the pieces are not on sale and can only be loaned in a case-by-case basis. This means that “mortals” (Rich and not Rich) just have to pray that their loan request gets approved no matter who they are.

Neil Leonard is the owner for the company and he’s also designer and vintage collector. His inspiration always leads back to the ‘60s and ‘70s including St Laurent and Halston. Neil Leonard started his own fashion label in 1985 and had his first Vogue cover the following year. Some of his mentors were the brilliant Vogue stylist Polly Mellen, Vogue Editor and Chief Grace Mirabella and The President of Bergdorf Goodman, Miss Dawn Mellow, Mr. Leonard met Miss Mello when his collection was sold at Bergdorf's. In 1990 Dawn left Bergdorf Goodman and joined Gucci where she hired Tom Ford.This was the initial period that Neil started colleting and building his vast Tom Ford/ Gucci archive. Over the years Neil has worked with the most important fashion stylists in the world providing.

“We dress the Femme Fatale”

On this particular occasion, muse Valentina Hites was shot by photographer Jacques Burga and styled by Constant de Boer. This can only mean one thing: the perfect match we are looking for. We look to inspire women to celebrate their own (fabulous) persona by getting inspired by the 90s chic lust in contrast with today’s chaos and sometimes clowny looks Valentina Hites is a seductive muse and a journalist with a rockstar soul. She has a very sharp critic eye for photography and her personal style is a celebration of feminity, chic and provocation. Three things hardly easy to achieve simultaneously which is why we still want to work with her.

Photographer Jacques Burga is distinctive for his elevated luxurious feel, regularly photographing his subject with non-chalant provocation while still remaining chic, disruptive and “too cool for school”. No matter on a building basement, in studio or at a chatêau, his focus relays in the intimate interaction with his subject and capturing the moment. He is the “Helmut Newton meets Guy Bourdin” of our generation.

On this series of photos we wanted to celebrate the timeless Femme Fatale because that’s our forever muse. A woman who doesn’t need anything or anyone else than herself to be an immediate success.