Linder finding its women’s consumer

Sam Linder of ready-to-wear brand Linder is on a mission for the brand to
find its core women’s customer. While the brand has seen consistent growth
the past several years, their menswear has managed to find a cult
following, one that Linder hopes to replicate for the womenswear market. In
a continuation of the approach to the previous spring/summer 2019 season,
the aim of this collection was an assortment of separates that stand on
their own rather than a full-look style.

“The inspiration for this season was to get members of the design team to
bring forward ideas without knowing exactly where they’re headed and throw
them into the pot,” Linder said to FashionUnited. “They were developed and mixed together,
and somewhere along the line assessed and seen which direction they headed
in. So, we never really have an inspiration board that says this is the
style we’re going for. We’re doing a science experiment and chemistry
experiment and seeing what comes out.”

This eclectic approach to design results in a very individual identity for
the Linder womenswear customer. She isn’t out to wear a uniform, but,
rather, express her style in a variety of ways. Some days she’s uptown in a
structured jacket, some days she’s downtown in a mixed print midi-dress.

“I really look for my customers to treat these as separates,” Linder said.
“Because what I’m seeing in the world is not people saying ‘I’m a Linder
person’ or ‘I’m associated with this brand’, but it’s a mix-and-match look,
it’s pastiche. So, we’re trying to create pieces that you can do that with,
so you can take a sweater and one person can make it look goth and one
person can make it look preppy.”

Workwear and evening were intertwined together for a blending of
non-contiguous spheres. While Linder acknowledges that there is a strong
sub-culture around the men’s brand thanks to his partner Kirk Millar, he
acknowledges that the women’s brand is still working on developing its
subculture. “Women’s is still more towards its beginning, and we’re still
waiting on seeing who it’s following is going to be” Linder said.

The collection features moleskin combined with satin, spandex printed with
buffalo check, and alpaca knits with slick viscose. Hand treatments were
applied to many garments to create geometric patterns.

Linder is well on their way to finding their woman, given their ability to
offer something to every woman across the board.

photos: Dan Lecca