Katya Moorman: Capturing the Soul of New York’s Underground
Katya Moorman didn’t just document New York’s nightlife – she helped define it. A former dancer turned lens-wielding anthropologist of downtown cool, her work through Style Defined NYC offers a rare, intimate look at the city’s most electric subcultures. From glitter-drenched club kids to ballroom legends, Moorman’s photography celebrates the radicals, provocateurs, and style anarchists who keep New York’s creative heart beating.
The Vision Behind Style Defined
"I started because mainstream street style blogs were missing the real creativity happening in Brooklyn basements and after-hours clubs," Moorman explains. Her platform became a manifesto for unfiltered self-expression, spotlighting those who treat fashion as performance art.
Inspirations: Fearless Icons & Rule Breakers
Tom Ford: "For proving creativity has no boundaries."
Martha Graham: "The original rebel woman in art."
Club Royalty: Kenny Kenny, Ladyfag, and Patricia Field – "people who built their style from the ground up."
Nightlife as Theater
Moorman’s most memorable shoots read like a history of NYC’s underground:
Paper Magazine’s 25th: "Liza Minnelli leading a choir of downtown eccentrics in New York, New York at the Public Library – pure magic."
House Balls: "The vitality of ballroom culture is unmatched. It’s where fashion becomes survival."
Katya’s Little Black Book
Reads: Italian Vogue (for Meisel’s genius), Purple, *i-D*
Digital Fixes: Dazed Digital, Advanced Style ("Proof that style only gets better with age.")
Club Picks: "Kenny Kenny’s Vandam Sundays at Greenhouse – but the real gems disappear as fast as they’re found."
On Her Radar
Designer Katie Gallagher: "A visionary straight out of school."
Copperwheat: "Menswear so good, I’d steal it."
Chris Sauve’s Tees: "Fashion satire at its sharpest."
Parting Wisdom
She leaves us with Kerouac’s words – a fitting motto for her work:
"The only people for me are the mad ones... who burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles."
Explore Her World:
"Real style isn’t bought – it’s lived." – Katya Moorman
Interview Leila Antakly
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