Designer, Artist, Master of Bespoke tailoring, Cutter.

Linda Carlén is a brand which started about 35 years ago as a bespoke tailoring and dressmaking atelier focused on High-end couture.

London.
After a prestigious training at the Tailor and Cutter school in Gothenburg with a Journeymans´certificate in both mens and ladies tailoring, I was awarded several scholarships making it possible to continue work and studies abroad. At Harrod´s menstailoring department I worked as Cutter and Tailor, while studying fashion design and illustration at St Martin´s.

I loved St Martin´s, it inspired me to explore fashiontrends thoruoghout the fleemarkets and the really rough areas around London. My favourite fleemarket was Camden Market, rough, boheme, avantgarde, trashy, far from the luxury fashionshops and the touristexplosion that later arrived.

Music has always played an important role in my life. In my youth I trained classical ballet, opera, and I loved the theatres. London has a fantastic tradition and history of Musicals and I saw loads of them ….. Covent Garden Opera became one of my true favorites, beautiful ballets and operas. London has a great place in my hart and fills my soul with warm nostalgia. Love the memories from my time London.

Gothenburg. 
My clientel in Gothenburg were sophisticated, wellinformed, high quality demanding with a wide knowhow in fashion.
They asked for total styling, complete wardrobes for all occasions when travelling around the Globe.
I developped unique personal wardrobes based on individual needs, style and personality for each client. This experience is today one of the cornerstones in my brand.

Paris.
Paris tempted me so I signed in at ESMOD for three years. It didn´t turned out to be fashion design, instead I choosed Costume design. Well, beeing trained in the Preforming Arts the choice was not “out of the blue”. I loved it, so crazy, so creative, so innovative from every point of view.
Paris was fun. I loved the stagiere-periods, but most of all the time with Annelise Heinzelmann at Jaques Fath. She brought the Haute Couture staff along from Givenchy when the brand was sold and built up the Jaques Fath brand. She had been for decades responable for the Pret- a Porter at Givenchy.  Annelise Heinzelmann later built the couture division for Mr Jean-Paul Gaultier. She was a brilliant cutter indeed, and I am proud of having studied for her.

There are storages of Costumes held by Bibliotheque Nat de France. I was given the pleasure to participate in a huge documentation of Costumes taken place in one of the storages in Versaille. 5 stories below surface, a strange atmosphere. It was dark. It was mysterious. We were not alone.. huh.. you could sense the presence of souls hidden in the costumes…

Original costumes by Chanel, Dior, Sciaparelli.. and many more dating from Sarah Bernard and onwards. It was a historyclass in French Haute Couture and Costume indeed. I remember in particular, a black dress so look a like the ones my master in Gothenburg AnneMarie Hanson produced. The dress was a Chanel dated 1936, a typical Wallis Simpson style, and yes, the classic cottonlabel was left in the garment. The dress was indeed an original. There are no coincidences says many, maybe it is true, but this “stage”/trainee period gave me later the opportunity to work at Opera Garnier and Mr Christian Lacroix himself.. but that is another story….

Geneviève Sevin-Doering.
The work of Geneviève Sevin-Doering captured me during the documentation 1996 at BN. The collaboration between her and her husbands dying techninque was extraordinary and indeed beautiful.  She calls her cuttingmethod “Decoup d´un seule morceau” . The meaning to cut the entire garment in one piece of textile has intruiged me ever since this moment.  It is an ergonomical unique way of cutting that I studied later with her.

Back to basic.

Gothenburg.
And this ends the story for today. After all these years and experiences achived I am back to basic. ” Il faut q´on trouve la source”…”You have to find the source/the origin”. I found the source in my own background. An elite of humble craftsmen and women who´s tradition created the most beautiful designs tought me a skill based on centuries of refinement.

A source of quality, elegance, style and deepest respect for the craftsmanship. A source where art and passion together are forming a symbiosis of “Timeless Style/Timeless Fashion.

Kindest regards,