Celebrating 10 years in business, J. Lindeberg is thinking big.
The company is ready to increase its brand presence worldwide with the planned launch of a diffusion label, Johan by J. Lindeberg, for fall 2007. The line, for both women and men, will be priced about 45 percent lower than the existing J. Lindeberg line. Company executives predict a 25 percent increase in sales volume for J. Lindeberg USA in 2007.
To launch this collection as well as fine-tune the mix of women’s wear at J. Lindeberg, the company has promoted Marcella Lindeberg to creative director of women’s wear. Previously, Marcella was brand manager at the firm. Her husband, Johan, continues as creative director of men’s wear.
“The first thing I did when I came in was to redesign and redefine the fit of the jeans,” she said in an interview from the company’s New York showroom. “Johan would always ask me why I never would wear the jeans before, and I just always knew it was because the fit wasn’t quite right.”
Now at the helm of the design of all J. Lindeberg women’s wear, Marcella said she has refocused the main line to include better fits and higher-end fashion pieces. She has also created the new Johan by J. Lindeberg collection, which will be targeted to better department and specialty stores for fall selling. With the spine of the collection being denim, Marcella said she was careful to create pieces that can carry through the customers’ lifestyle, such as casual tops to evening wear. The new collection will wholesale from $80 to $545.
“This is a young, sophisticated but current line for a trendy customer,” she said. “I have a strong denim background, coming from Diesel, so of course denim is important, but it is so much more than a denim line.”
Although executives have yet to work out the details, Johan said the new collection will have a big focus on women’s, with about 150 pieces for women and just over 100 for men. He also plans to sell the diffusion line at the company’s Los Angeles freestanding store but not in the New York store, which will continue to house only the high-end line.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
“We have been in business for 10 years, so now is the time to upgrade and expand,” Johan said. “We are in a great place, so this is a great time for us.”
Working as a sales manager for Diesel in her native Italy, Marcella met Johan, then chief executive officer of Diesel USA and international marketing director, in 1995. A whirlwind romance led to marriage in just six months. They first settled in New York, where Marcella studied photography, though soon left for Stockholm following Johan’s vision to set up his own brand.
Marcella has worked with J. Lindeberg since it was founded in 1996. She began as the brand manager for the J. Lindeberg Concept line and produced the Milan men’s shows. Marcella moved to London in 2002 with their daughter, Blue, to establish the brand in the U.K. At the time of its launch, J. Lindeberg opened offices in New York and Stockholm. It now operates offices all over the world, with main offices in London and New York and design studios in London and Stockholm. The brand operates 10 flagships and has distribution in more than 25 countries.