Leah McSweeney

Leah McSweeney
Born 1982
New York City, America
Known for Owner of the Married to the MOB clothing brand, Co-Host for Shade 45's Lip Service, Millionaire Matchmaker appearance.
Website
http://www.mttmnyc.com/

Leah McSweeney (born in 1982 in New York City) is the founder and CEO of the female "Married to the MOB" (MTTM) clothing line.[1]

McSweeney has been featured in many publications, such as TLG Magazine, Elle Girl, Inked, Complex, Elle, Vogue, Hypebeast, Essence, Paper, URB, Teen Vogue and Nylon.

Early life

Her early years were spent in New York City until she was thrown out in eighth grade from an all-girls Catholic school,[2] Convent of the Sacred Heart, whose alumni includes Paris and Nicky Hilton, and Lady Gaga. Afterwards, Leah’s family moved to Newtown, Connecticut where she ran away every weekend to get back to her NYC roots. Once Leah finished high school, she moved back to the Big Apple and studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology for a short time before dropping out.[2]

In 2004, tired of seeing guys having the coolest gear and brands, Leah had the idea of creating her own female clothing line "Married to the MOB" with extreme help of from her daughter's father, Rob Cristofaro of Alife fame.[2] Leah used her settlement of $75,000 (from a lawsuit stemming from a fight McSweeney sparked with the police)[3] to jump-start her idea. She bought an Apple computer and painted her grandmother's Spring Street apartment walls pink.

Leah’s grandmother's apartment became the MTTM headquarters; everyone from McSweeney's young sister and MOB poster-girl Sarah McSweeney to her teenage friend Tabatha became part of team.[3] The clothing line grew from there, and Leah switched her headquarters to the Empire State Building after receiving seed funding from FUBU.

MTTM collaborations and beyond

Collection of MOB bags

The tagline “Men are the new women” from a MOB campaign was used in conjunction with the TV show "Big Shots".

MOB's hands bikini with graffiti artist Kaws was a stepping-stone for Leah's company. With the suit's handprints boldly placed on every guy’s favorite spots on a girl’s body, this product is one of the most-recognisable MOB collaborations.[1] Various collaborations followed in 2007, notably with the German accessory house MCM and a MOB and Kangol cashmere 'beanie' cap.[4]

Leah's love for France enabled her to meet graffiti artist Fafi, who helped design and model for the '07 Spring/Summer campaign.[1] French avant-garde boutique Colette collaborated with MOB on Reebok lip print sneakers, that sold out online in 23 minutes.[5] MOB teamed up with Nike in November 2008 on a white tweed and black patent 'dunk' shoe.[3] The MOB girls introduced a denim line, as well as cut and sew, for Winter 2008.[5] February 2009 brought 'KRINK Inks' and MOB together, and they co-branded a Valentine's Day pack.[6]

In Spring 2009, the first wave of the collection was a collaboration with the Chicago rapper Kid Sister.[7] MOB's second wave saw the brand working with artist Jessy Kennedy, aka The Nite Rider, who added her naughty illustrations to a classically controversial MOB shirt.[8] With the 50th Anniversary of Barbie in March 2009, the Colette boutique continued its relationship with MOB with a commemorative tee.[9]

Seen and heard

MTTM clothing has been seen on many musicians and celebrities. The line has been worn by the musician Uffie,[10] multi-talented artist Fergie, singer Lady Gaga, model Doutzen Kroes, musician Kid Sister, and rapper Lady Sovereign.

In 2010, McSweeney appeared as a client on an episode of Millionaire Matchmaker titled “Opposites Don’t Attract" on Bravo (US TV channel).

See also

References

External links

Official website