Valerj Pobega

Valerj Pobega is an Italian artist, fashion designer, and poet, who was born into an artistic family in Alghero, Italy. As a teenager she became a professional model, working with prestigious couture houses in Rome and Milan. During this time Valerj started attending art school. It was from this confluence of surroundings that the decision to use her fabrics and garments, as canvases to paint on, was birthed.

Since Valerj’s 2008 debut, her avant-garde works are entirely designed, cut, sewn, and the silk fabrics hand-painted by Valerj herself, in numbered collectible limited editions, blurring the lines of Art and Fashion. Valerj has always presented her work in unconventional ways, as well as ideating and artistic directing all photographic campaigns, videos, dance and theater performances to showcase her work. For her it is never just about the clothes, but rather about immersing viewers in the world that inspired each of her diverse collections, including her original poems hand-painted on silk.

Her work has been featured in Vogue, Elle, WWD, Art Forum, Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone magazine amongst others. She has also created one-of-a-kind stage and screen art garments for such icons as Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne, Shirley Manson of Garbage, Beyoncé, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, and Lady Gaga.

LACMA Museum in Los Angeles has recently acquired two of Valerj’s hand-painted art gowns for their permanent collection. Valerj currently lives and works in Los Angeles.