Milen Krastev—better known as The Mad Tailor—was born on the Black Sea in Varna, Bulgaria. He picked up sewing young, outfitting his friends with contraband cool in the shadow of communist Bulgaria in the early ’90s. After seven years training to be a sea captain at the Naval Academy, he ditched the charts and compass for a different kind of navigation: fashion. In 1999, he moved to the United States to pursue design full time, earning a Master’s Degree from the Academy of Art University in 2003. He met his wife, Jenny, in San Francisco before heading to New York City in 2008—where Mad Leather was born.
“I make everything myself, with my hands.”
— MILEN KRASTEV, MASTER TAILOR & LEATHER CRAFTSMAN
“I’m inspired by the madness of people.”
— JENNY KRASTEVA, CONCEPT AND clothing DESIGNER
Jenny Swank Krasteva was born in Montana and raised in the small town of Valier before setting her sights on fashion. She studied Fashion Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, graduating in 2007, and quickly caught the attention of New York designer Zac Posen. After years on his team, she went on to design for Carolina Herrera New York before being appointed VP of Design for HUGO Womenswear at Hugo Boss. There, she presented runway collections at Berlin Fashion Week and Pitti Uomo in Milan, creating multiple global collections each year from 2015 to 2020. Along the way, she collaborated with some of the world’s best photographers, stylists, and models on campaigns and shows seen around the world. What inspires her most, though, is working with people who are simply great at what they do—a value that continues to drive her creative vision today.