DUTCH ARTIST Leila Lovit poses with two of her distinctive AI creations in the background (image: Leila Lovit)
Leila Lovit: AI visionary behind a bizarre & beautiful kink universe
AUGUST COVER STORY: If you’re tired of all the AI slop masquerading as fetish art on social media, have we got news for you! Leila Lovit is an absolute visionary of the AI genre – a Dutch artist working with still and video imagery, mostly in black-and-white, who is building a bizarre, beautiful and entirely unique kink universe in which every character, setting and mood is created entirely from scratch. She shares her universe with us in this 4-page profile featuring 60+ AI images and eight AI videos. Tony Mitchell’s interview below is the first part of a two-part article whose second part will present Lovit’s strong views on the important but often overlooked ethical issues around AI in fetish. Banner: a screengrab from the video banner below – one of three banners Leila created just for us!
Leila Lovit: Introduction by Tony Mitchell
CLIP ART: One of the three AI video banners Leila (pronounced ‘Lyla’) created specially for her Fetishistas interview. (Click the image to watch in page or expand it to full screen resolution)
I feel slightly embarrassed to admit that I encountered Leila Lovit’s AI fetish art online for the first time as recently as October last year.
But on the plus side, its excitingly unique qualities compelled me to reach out to her immediately to discuss doing an interview for The Fetishistas.
Her work instantly stood out as both different from and superior to most of the AI fetish art that had crossed my radar up to that point.
It was notable that she had chosen to work almost entirely in black and white, when the average AI fetish warrior is obsessed with colour-saturated, super-glossy latex sprayed onto impossibly large-breasted, tiny-waisted, long-legged glamourpusses in static cheesecake poses.
I admit that some of that stuff did catch my eye in the earlier days of AI. But I was surprised by how quickly the novelty of it wore off.
My curiosity about Leila Lovit was also fuelled by the fact that she’s a woman working in a field that is dominated (numerically at least) by men — albeit men who often appear, judging by their output, still to be teenagers in their heads, if not in their bodies.
It reminds me in some ways of my earlier days on Skin Two magazine when, at exhibitions and fairs, I would regularly encounter ‘fetish art’ that was often no more than a pencil drawing copied from a photo.
I used to wonder how anyone could think this was enough to warrant its being categorised as ‘art’.
These were some of the initial thoughts and questions I put to Ms Lovit, although in the course of our numerous exchanges we ended-up covering much more ground than the typical artist interview does.
So much more, in fact, that I’ve chosen to split the results of our discussions into two distinct parts published as two articles.
This first part covers Leila’s development into the visionary digital artist she is today, as well as providing insights into her 20-year journey as a member of the Dutch fetish scene.
And if you’re interested in the nuts-and-bolts processes behind Leila’s work, you’ll also discover here that she shares more about her method than do most other members of the notoriously secretive AI fetish art community!
The second article covers the many ethical issues that can arise from how AI is used to create imagery, such as when real people are depicted, or when artists choose to ignore difficult issues, as many seem inclined to do.
Leila has strong views on AI ethics, which she articulated powerfully to me just as Meta crashed into an ethical brick wall with its launch then prompt withdrawal of Meta Muse AI — just one of several AI events making recent negative headlines.
To illustrate these two articles, our interviewee has generously provided some 60 individual AI images, plus her first five professional AI videos (originally commissioned by Wasteland), plus three Fetishistas video banners she created specially for us — the first of which can be viewed at the top of this intro panel.
The full-size single images Leila provided have been grouped into galleries which can all be found in this first article, while small ‘teaser’ versions of some also appear within the text columns of both articles.
Videos can be viewed in-page at apx 600px wide, or expanded to full screen size.
To maximise readability, this article has been divided into easily digestible sections that can be read as one continuous interview or dipped into as the mood takes you.
Part 2 will be published as soon as possible after Part 1 goes live, and the articles will be linked once Part 2 has also gone live.
BELOW: SEXY-2 from Leila’s Fine Art AI galleries featured on pages 2 and 3 (image: Leila Lovit)
What’s in a name? Well it needs to work on Instagram…
Let’s begin by clearing up a question probably already in the minds of some reading this article: Leila Lovit isn’t her real name, is it?
LEILA: ‘I’m not hiding because I work with AI’ (image: Leila Lovit)
Indeed it isn’t. It’s the artist name that Leila created a few years ago to fit with the kind of AI work she’d started posting on Instagram.
“Leila Lovit has been with me for about five years now,” she explains. “My real name doesn’t exactly sound edgy.
“I originally used this stage name when I was posting more lewd content on Instagram — I didn’t want my private circle to find me too easily.”
However, she quickly dispels my theory that the name might have been inspired by late-1970s/early-’80s singer Lene Lovich.
“It wasn’t, although people ask me that all the time. Knowing her style, it would almost make sense, but no — Lovit comes from my constant enthusiastic ‘LOVE IT!’ reactions.
“Leila is simply a name I find beautiful, and it fit. There’s no deeper theory behind it. It’s just a good, memorable name.
“There’s no shame or secrecy behind it, and I’m not hiding because I work with AI. The occasional photos I post of myself keep things human. I don’t mind people knowing who I am.”
She adds that she used to post photos of herself all the time, then confides: “But three years ago I almost died, and the impact on my body was devastating. That’s why I’m less eager to be in the spotlight now.”
Discovering the Dutch fetish scene via Dominatrix parties
DUTCH SEEN: Erik laces-up Lotte LaVey as Pandora Deluxe’s Michael and Magdalena watch backstage at Dominatrix, whose events introduced Leila to the Dutch scene (photo: Tony Mitchell 2015)
Leila discovered the Dutch fetish scene about 20 years ago, and, she says, it immediately felt like she’d found her people.
“At the time I was still married, and my husband wasn’t interested in ‘all those weird people’, as he called them, so I watched everything from the sidelines.
“When my marriage ended, friends invited me to my first fetish event — Dominatrix. I still remember how overwhelmed I was by the beauty of it all: the latex, the silhouettes, the craftsmanship, the energy.
“Not long after that night I bought my first latex outfit. Dressing up, partying, playing — it has always felt like coming home. Over the years I visited many events and got to know a lot of people.
“From day one, I knew I wanted to contribute to the scene. But photography wasn’t my strength, I wasn’t built to be a model, performing wasn’t my thing, and my digital art never really landed. I ran out of options — until AI arrived.
“AI became the translator for what I had always wanted to offer. It finally gave me a medium where my imagination, my aesthetic, and my love for the scene could come together in a way that felt authentic.
“It allowed me to contribute visually, creatively, and meaningfully — in a way none of the traditional paths ever could.
“Of course, being part of the scene also means seeing its flaws. Over the years I’ve felt both the warmth and the sharp edges. Some spaces are incredibly welcoming; others can be surprisingly judgmental or hierarchical.
“I’ve seen people lift each other up, and I’ve seen people tear each other down — sometimes for reasons that have nothing to do with kink at all.
“Those experiences taught me to stay close to the parts that nourish me, and to step away from the parts that don’t.
“In the end, the fetish community has shaped me — not just aesthetically, but personally. It gave me a sense of belonging, a creative home, and eventually a medium through which I could finally contribute.
“AI didn’t pull me into the scene; it simply gave me the voice I had been looking for all along.”
Leila Lovit says the direction of her art has been inspired — albeit in very different ways — both by her social interactions with real scene people and by the work of other image-makers encountered over the years.
“My social interactions in the scene have shaped the feeling of my work: the atmosphere, the energy, the sense of
belonging, the way people move and express themselves when they’re in latex or rubber.
“Being around real scene people taught me what confidence looks like, what vulnerability looks like, what desire looks like when it’s expressed through clothing rather than words.
“But the imagery I encountered on my journey shaped the visual language. The silhouettes, the hoods, the shine, the theatricality — those came from years of absorbing photography, fashion, and the aesthetics of the scene.
“I’ve always been a visual sponge. I don’t copy people, but I do absorb moods, shapes, gestures, and atmospheres. Real people gave me the emotional blueprint. Imagery gave me the stylistic vocabulary.
“And AI became the place where those two worlds finally met. It allowed me to translate the feeling I get from the community into visuals that reflect my own imagination.
GLITCH DOLL-3 with trademark lips and lashes (image: Leila Lovit)
“My characters aren’t based on anyone I know. But the spirit of the scene — the confidence, the playfulness, the intimacy — absolutely comes from the people I’ve met along the way.”
Lovit admits she’s still surprised by how strongly her work has resonated with people.
“It really started with the black‑and‑white images. There are so many incredibly talented fetish photographers out there, but most of them work in colourful, polished, static imagery.
“Beautiful work — but in my mind, I always missed that raw, underground feeling. The fine art edge. The grainy, dirty textures.”
BELOW: Two galleries showcasing a total of 19 large Conceptual AI images by Leila Lovit.
CLICK/TAP either preview to open its gallery, then click/tap any thumbnail to start slideshow
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