meet the founder of ITCH, Leana Sterlina
In the summer of 2024 I had the pleasure of interning with ITCH, a Brooklyn based fashion brand. I got to work closely with the founder Leana Sterlina and truly learned the ins and outs within the fashion industry and the every day hustle that comes with it. I sat down with Leana to sincerely understand how her brand ITCH came to be and her experiences as a fashion designer as a whole. Her origin story of becoming a fashion designer started when she was young, Leana states that “I was always creative, if that was drawing on the walls or building contraptions. But growing up I was faced with an autoimmune condition that caused eczema and other skin issues. So I always struggled wearing comfortable clothing and was trying to find ways to cover up my skin. So that sort of led me to shop in the mens section, or finding pieces that were made of cotton and denim and then reworking them into something I loved.”
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Leana then found her passion to make clothes and attended Parsons to receive her BFA in Fashion Design. She states that “My first true breath of fashion was stepping into the courses at Parsons. I then found people who were like me and had the same goals as I did.” Leana was born and raised in South Brooklyn with a Russian heritage and says that, “Although it has always been a huge inspiration for me, if you truly grow up in it, you realize all the grime and the struggle of growing up here as well.” I was able to submerge myself into the identity of ITCH and experience Leana’s goals and the image of her brand. In conversation with Leana she told me that, “Going into my first year in fashion, I ended up having to take medical leave for my autoimmune condition. So I came back with the mission that I wanted to make clothes for people in my shoes, because clothing is truly another layer of skin. That’s when ITCH came to me, because at the end of the day there’s always something to itch for. “
sound: “liminal states” by patricia