Leon Max (born Leonid Maksovich Rodovinsky; russian: Леонид Максович Родовинский; 12 February 1954) is a Russian-American

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

and retailer.

Early life

Max was born in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(now Saint Petersburg),Nina dos Santos, Irene Chapple
Russian tycoon to English country gent: Leon Max and his stately home
''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

'', 3 February 2013 in 1954. He then sought political asylum to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on his way to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He later enrolled at the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1986, at which time he legally changed his name to Leon Max.

Career

He worked as a personal trainer in New York. He then worked for the New York fashion house Tahari, and then

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based Bis, a women’s sportswear firm. He founded Max Studio in 1979. An upmarket fashion chain, Max Studio sells through department stores. It also has 46 of its own retail stores in the U.S. and another 50 in the Far East. In July 2012, he received an honorary degree from the

University of Northampton The University of Northampton is a public university based in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. It was formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of a number of training colleges, and gained full university status as the University of Northampton in ...

Personal life

He was divorced twice. His second wife was Ame Austin, an American model and stylist. In 2014, he married Yana Boyko, a Ukrainian model.Leon and Yana Max's wedding
''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'', 14 October 2014 In 2005, he purchased

Easton Neston Easton Neston is situated in south Northamptonshire, England. Though the village of Easton Neston which was inhabited until around 1500 is now gone, the parish retains the name. At the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish remained le ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, England from Lord Hesketh.Yori Yanover
Designer Leon Max Is Buying Up Britain
''

The Jewish Press ''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York, and geared toward the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. It describes itself as "America's Largest Independent Jewish Weekly". ''The Jewish Press'' has an online v ...

'', March 11, 2012Mitchell Owens
Easton Neston Revived
''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'', May 2012 He converted the 10,000 sq ft of the fire damaged Wren wing of the house, plus the out buildings which were the home of defunct Formula One team Hesketh Racing into a design studio. The interior design was done by

Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill Lady Henrietta Mary Spencer-Churchill (born 7 October 1958) is an English interior decorator and founder of Woodstock Designs. Her name has been more than once included in a list of 100 Leading Interior Designers by '' House & Garden'' magazine. S ...

. In July 2011, a party was thrown at Easton Neston to celebrate the completion of its renovation.Julia Neel
Leon Max Party
''Vogue'', 26 July 2011 It was hosted by

Richard Dennen Richard Dennen (born c.1980) is a British journalist and editor of ''Tatler''. He is best known for his contributions to the fashion industry. He previously contributed to publications including ''The Sunday Times'', ''The London Evening Standard ...

, Mary Charteris and Josephine de La Baume. In 2010, he purchased a house formerly owned by

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

, near the

Hollywood Sign The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. According to ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' in 2020, Max has a net worth of £410 million.

References

External links

MaxStudio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Max, Leon Living people 1954 births People from West Northamptonshire District People from Los Angeles American fashion designers Fashion Institute of Technology alumni Soviet emigrants to the United States American people of Russian-Jewish descent