J. Lindbergh’s reboot is a balancing act of sports and fashion.

The question that often arises is ‘Can sports and fashion coexist?’ Of course, beyond the occasional award-winning quarterback or football siren calling it a day in a campaign outfit, the real question is whether there’s a place for the everyday user of tried-and-true sportswear. The weight of ready-to-wear fashion (and elevated beauty)? J. Lindeberg has the answers.

With the launch of the brand’s ‘Crossover Campaign’ for Fall/Winter 2022, a new beginning for J. Lindeberg, a house previously known for its unique athletic apparel and clothing for many athletes around the world. The style game. The mission? Combining two different brand codes into a versatile and ultra-wearable look that takes you from the slopes to the streets with ease. As seen on a runway packed with eager fashion insiders in a hall in central Stockholm, models lined up and got their heads in the game, thinking the juxtaposition of refined tailoring with traditional athleticism. Running shorts, leather coats with golf pants, cycling jackets and ski pants.

Technical jackets are designed to follow the user’s mobility and contain design elements that are more useful to the individual, such as fine Italian wool and functionality where they play with great innovations such as removable pockets. And as the industry slowly and surely returns to its savoir-faire roots, J. Lindeberg took the opportunity to discuss wearability based on the user and turned the idea of ​​staying in one lane on its head.

In a “See Now Buy Now” presentation with the new collection available for purchase, V caught up with Neil Lewty to talk about Stockholm’s tumultuous scene ahead of its launch.

V magazine: So where exactly is the show?

Neil Lewty: It’s right around the corner! We’re in an underground space, like a hall, so it’s very hot and running around a lot, so I’m wearing active clothes. *laughs*

V: When did you start setting everything up?

NL: We have been working on this concept for some time and have planned exactly what we will do and where we will do it. It has been snowing for the last four days, and we have worked very closed [out] Drop models, all fit. We did not produce anything special. [the show]. All these clothes are available for purchase [now], so everything you see is fully available. I think it’s great to do that and show people that this is what we do. It’s not fancy, it’s not smoke and mirrors, this is exactly our look – combining fashion and sport makes it unique.

V: Completely. I like that approach because with regular show schedules you basically present a year in advance. Customers will have to wait months for everything to be produced and it will take time to get everything out. Everyone seems so hyped about the excitement surrounding the show, I can feel the town buzzing.

NL: We’re releasing the campaign, the stores are going to carry the new collection and it just feels right. Doing a “see now buy now” show is the new way of doing things, in my opinion.

V: i agree. Why would you want to watch current episodes that aren’t timed with what’s happening right now, you know?

NL: That’s the thing – here in Stockholm, we’re always a month ahead. So it starts to cool down [early] It’s September and you start thinking about those winter jackets.

V: This collection is great because it is a combination of sportswear and ready-to-wear. Why was now the right time to bring these categories together for a unified story?

NL: This is for J. Lindeberg is my first winter collection. So when I came to the brand, everyone had a different design. [categories] And I really wanted to open that up and design the whole collection as one piece. So I’m sitting with a design team who are wonderful people, and therefore, very talented. And I said, ‘Okay, let’s just do one concept, one that transcends golf, skis, racquets, and fashion. And then we all work with matching color palettes, patterns and prints.’ The color stories that you find in skiing are also happening in fashion because my ultimate goal was to cross all these looks because now we don’t buy things specifically for golf in our clothing.

V: that’s right.

NL: The idea of ​​being able to mix and match what we found in the collection, pull it together from a color perspective and base it on our patterns and print stories was really fun. [itself to me]. This collection is like the last one. You’ll see it in the show, these looks that completely cross fashion and sport, and basically, that’s what the brand is about – the link between fashion and sport. We are a comparison brand. We start in New York and Stockholm at the same time, which is kind of mental.

V: I’m glad you touched on not separating the two because everyone wears sportswear regularly with day and evening wear in some form of fashion.

NL: I think it’s a bit hard to narrow down to one brand and buy that sum. [sport] watch out. You can buy some leggings or whatever and then get a really nice jacket. But then you think ‘I want to go to the office in those leggings’. There are also some smaller brands that push this kind of beauty.

V: But, what is in the middle?

NL: Exactly. I think we want to present practical fashion from a new perspective. The colors and the prints, and the way we build these collections together is fun.

V: How many looks will the set have in total?

NL: We did 40 views. It makes me smile when I think about it. We are coming out of lockdown and the joy of being able to make things and wear them again is gaining more importance. It’s great to have a sports brand where we’ve got these sports colors and energy and be able to mix it with fashion tailoring. That connection, that tension is really interesting to me.

V: It’s a reflection of where we are in our lives right now, which is interesting because everyone is stuck at home in the living room and sportswear. And now, I don’t think anyone wants to sacrifice comfort. Of all the looks, what’s your favorite from the collection that stuck with you?

NL: The amazing thing is that we made these ski jackets and they tell a story because of the pattern on them. We have changed the logo [pattern] So there is a lot of movement in it. When we look at the design, we think, ‘Okay, how do things work in the body when you hit a golf ball or ski?’ We are kind of. So we implemented this kind of movement in a very interesting pattern because it gives us such energy. The ski jacket is designed so that you can zip up all the functions inside. So you can wear it just like a regular jacket in the city. It has the feel, the warmth, the technicality, but you can take that jacket and hit the skis in it.

Kevin Ponce it is. VS Digital and beauty editor.

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