Natalia Fedner, Bexley’s own couture designer whose signature Stretch Metal avant garde garments and jewelry have graced the likes of Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Cher, Doja Cat, Janet Jackson, Charlize Theron, Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion and more, says “every accomplishment still feels like a happy surprise.”

Natalia was born in the Ukraine and immigrated to Bexley as a young child. “When I immigrated to the USA, my art was how I communicated. I didn’t know English and I didn’t know this culture. But everyone seemed to love my drawings. In a world full of insecurities and uncertainties, art was something I could always rely on,” she says. “I always knew I wanted to be an artist.”

“My greatest inspiration has always been my parents. I watched them leave everything they ever knew behind for a dream – the dream of freedom and opportunity. I watched them navigate 3 months of immigration across Europe, navigate the American immigration system, navigate new degrees and new jobs, and eventually buy their first home. I saw how hard they worked, how fiercely they fought to bring our relatives to the USA and ensure a better life for me. So I always felt like I could accomplish anything, so long as I worked as hard as I possibly could.”

And she did. She graduated as one of the valedictorians (“woot woot!”) at BHS. “I owe a debt of gratitude to the English teachers at BHS: to Mrs. Novak and Mrs. Lamuth. Being able to express myself with the right words in the right way has absolutely helped me in business and in life. I also think my fellow classmates at BHS raised the bar – which pushed me to work harder and excel further. I had a lot of amazing teachers, but Ms. Young was perhaps the most impactful. She was my art teacher at Maryland Elementary. And she took time out of her lunch hour to teach me how to work with fimo clay. She was also the first person to open my eyes to Modern artists like Georgia O’Keefe.”

BHS also opened opportunities for her career. “I had my first fashion show at BHS. Thanks to the senior year project program, I was able to spend the last couple of months of high school developing textiles at CCAD and creating a series of garments that were modeled by fellow BHS students. Bexley had and continues to have a lifelong impact on me.”

She went on to study at Parsons School of Design in New York City and Paris. She worked for Calvin Klein Collection, Donna Karan Collection and Marc Jacobs after college, and earned a spot on Project Runway: Under the Gunn. She has recently expanded beyond couture fashion and has started making fine art with offerings at the Scope Art Fair at Art Basel in Miami and the Red Dot Art Fair at Art Basel.

“I’ve started making sculptures using my patented textile combined with resin and antique crystal pieces. It’s been a lot of fun – and also a huge challenge,” Natalia says. “I’m still trying to figure out how to navigate the fashion world, but now I’ve got the art world to navigate, too!”

While she was recently in town visiting her family, two amazing sisters, Emily and Frances, and her childhood friends, Natalia was at a dental cleaning when she missed 3 calls from Lenny Kravitz’s stylist. “I quickly called back—and there was Lenny in all his glory facetiming with me and my mom in the dentist’s parking lot … Getting to work with Lenny Kravitz so many times still fills me with joy- and still feels like I’ve won the lottery every time. Recently, Leann Rimes wore a gown of mine at the CMT Awards. And it brought me so much joy because her song ‘Blue’ was such a hit during my teen years.”

Though she says Vogue calling her up to do an article may have been her first “I’ve made it” moment, “I really don’t feel like ‘I’ve made it,’ because that phrase feels like an end-point, a destination. And I certainly don’t feel like ‘I’ve arrived.’ Trust me, my life is very humbling. While I’ve had some amazing celeb moments, I’m still growing my company and dealing with small-business growing pains every week.”

With the war in her country of birth, Natalia has shifted focus over the last year. “I was lucky enough to visit Ukraine in 2020, right before the world shut down due to COVID. It was the first time my parents and I had visited since we immigrated in 1988. It was extremely impactful – as we saw a completely different country than the one we left as refugees. There were LGBTQ+ clubs, vegan restaurants, and religious tolerance unlike anything my parents had witnessed during the Soviet years. Ukraine had become a country that very clearly wanted to join the democratic world,” she says. “I have spent the past year working with various organizations, charities, and individuals to help Ukrainians, from those who are still in Ukraine to those who became refugees (like I once was). It’s truly humbling to be able to help refugees – it feels very full circle as so many strangers in Ohio helped my family out when we immigrated. What is happening in Ukraine is terrorism. It’s hard to think about it and not get both sad and angry.”

She has several designs on her website, www.nataliafedner.com, the sales of which are entirely donated to help with medical supplies for civilians and those on the front line in Ukraine. She’s also working with Namysto, a catalog that sells Ukrainian art of all kinds to bring attention and offer support. Last October, Natalia helped put together a fundraiser fashion show with Fashion Week Columbus, The Ukrainian Cultural Association of Ohio and CCAD. She says, “If you’re curious about Ukrainian culture or just want to find out more about helping Ukraine, please look them up – they are @ucaohio on Instagram.” She adds, “Please don’t stop posting! It does help!” And, if you need more glam in your life, you know what to do.