Kristinit: The LOVE Campaign

Named by Lucky Magazine as "One to Watch" and featured in OK Magazine, InTouch, Style, and Nylon, LA-based designer Kristina Lenss of Kristinit is finally earning the props she deserves! Kristina studied costume design at the Wimbledon School of Art in London and has an MFA in Costume Design from UCLA. She has created designs for theater productions, operas, films, commercials, ballets, and illustrations, and has exhibited her award winning designs all over the world. Kristina names nature, history, and the innate glamour of women as just a few of the inspirations for her designs.

Kristina's latest project is the LOVE Campaign. The LOVE Campaign "embraces a holistic approach to design, linking playful classicism with social and environmental responsibility". Kristina uses organic fabrics, local manufacturing, and fair trade practices, creating pieces that are beautiful as well as ecologically and socially responsible. In addition, Kristina donates a percentage of each sale to One Percent for the Planet and the Pachamama Alliance.

Kristinit is currently only sold at boutiques in California, Florida, Oregon, and Texas (click here for locations), but Kristina also has an online sample sale site where you can purchase Kristinit pieces at great prices. I was lucky enough to have a chance to chat with Kristina, who explained where the name "Kristinit" came from, what celebrity she has been most excited to see in her designs, and more! Read on...


I love the name of your brand, "Kristinit", where did that come from?

My family is from Latvia even though I was raised in the United States. "Kristinit" (pronounced Kris-tee-neet) is the endearing way of saying "Kristina" in Latvian. In Latvian there is an endearing counterpart to practically every name.

How do you feel your background in costume design helps you design ready-to-wear clothes?

Costume design is a great background for a fashion designer to have. You really get to know the history of fashion and textiles which provides an infinite wealth of inspiration when designing a RTW collection. There are always so many silhouettes and ideas to reference. I love it!

Celebrities such as Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, and Zoe Deshanel have all been spotted in your designs. Who have you been the most excited to see in your designs and why?

I loved that Scarlett Johansson was actually one of my first clients. She bought one of my silk charmeuse peplum jackets with the antique buttons on it. She has that great old Hollywood Glamour thing going on so I was really excited to have her in a Kristinit!

How did you come up with the concept of the LOVE Campaign?

The LOVE campaign came out of the idea to bring a holisitic and postitive message back to fashion. This whole trend of "fast fashion" and people shopping for trendy clothes that are poorly made in countries where people don't get paid well at all for their work is really sad. I wanted to create a collection where the whole process of creating a garment was positive from start to finish.

Do you have a favorite piece from your Fall 2009 collection?

I would have to say that my favorite piece from the Fall collection is the Jerry Dress. It's versatily and can go from day to night with a change of accesories + it's super cute and flattering on all figure types!