As one of the it girls of the online fashion world, Swedish style star Elin Kling has managed to parlay her inimitable street style into her new clothing line, named Totême.
Though not a “celebrity” in the traditional sense, Kling has developed hundreds and thousands of fashion followers since her personal style blog Style By Kling launched back in 2007. For her inaugural line, she recruited her fiancé and business partner, Karl Lindman, who is also the art director at Interview Magazine.
The 20-piece collection focuses on luxury leisurewear with a European twist, inspired by “European vacations, resorts and the elegant ’70s,” with nary a silky pajama bottom in sight. It is a slight departure from the edgy, monochrome uniform that made Kling famous, but if offers something fresh and versatile for spring that’s not just another pair of leather leggings.
The collection of luxurious basics includes knit dresses, pique polo shirts, linen trousers, sporty pullovers and cashmere tees in a clean palette of mostly navy, cream forest green and a retro orange-red that resembles the costume design of a Wes Anderson film. Designed with a warmer climate in mind, the line also features a few choice accessories, including graphic towels and some sandals that look fresh out of the market stalls of Mykonos.
We’ve heard the well-worn fashion mantra “invest in basics,” parroted by every fashion outlet there is, but this label seems to be aiming for a timeless aesthetic, that’s clean but not cliché. With a price range that’s described as “affordable luxury,” pieces will be available for around $350 for a dress or trousers, and will debut with select retailers including Net-a-Porter, the Apartment, stylist Vanessa Traina’s SoHo shop — in addition to their own site, toteme-nyc.com, on May 5. Starting with the Fall 2014 presentation, Totême will come out as four collections per year.
Kling’s fashion pedigree makes her the ideal candidate to expand her personal brand. She was the first blogger to collaborate on a clothing line with H&M, and has also collaborated on capsule collections with Guess. After relocating from Stockholm to New York, she started a popular print fashion magazine, Styleby, and co-founded Fashion Networks International, an umbrella fashion ad network that owns NowManifest.
Instead of copying her personal style to fit fast fashion, she aims to create a niche in the luxe casualwear market. “I’m very over the boyfriend shirt, the boyfriend sweater, the boyfriend denim. We’re living in 2014. Let’s make clothes for women.”
