J.Lindeberg
Encyclopedia
J.Lindeberg is a Swedish clothing company marketed as a 21st Century lifestyle brand. Currently, J.Lindeberg is distributed in over 20 countries and available at flagship stores in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Miami, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

.

J.Lindeberg's clothes are popular among golfers, and are worn by PGA stars: Jesper Parnevik
Jesper Parnevik
Jesper Bo Parnevik is a Swedish professional golfer. He spent 38 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings in 2000 and 2001.-Early years:...

, James Heath
James Heath (golfer)
James Joseph Heath is an English professional golfer.Heath was born in London. He started playing golf with his father at the age of ten. Having played in the Faldo Junior Series, he went on to a successful amateur career, highlighted by winning the English Amateur and Lytham Trophy, where he...

, Hank Kuehne
Hank Kuehne
Henry August "Hank" Kuehne II is an American former U.S. Amateur champion and professional golfer who enjoyed some success on the PGA Tour....

, José-Filipe Lima
José-Filipe Lima
José-Filipe Lima is a professional golfer. He has Portuguese parents but was born and grew up mainly in France. His father worked at Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche, which was the host course of the Trophée Lancôme until that tournament ceased in 2003, and was his son's first coach...

, Camilo Villegas
Camilo Villegas
Camilo Villegas is a Colombian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour.-Early years:Villegas was born in Medellín, Colombia, and took up golf as a child...

, Victor Dubuisson
Victor Dubuisson
Victor Dubuisson is a French professional golfer.Dubuisson was born in Nice. He enjoyed a successful amateur career, during which he won several major amateur tournaments, including the 2009 European Amateur, and was the number one ranked player...

 and Richard S. Johnson. The brand also sponsored Swedish professional skier Jon Olsson
Jon Olsson
Jon Olsson born in Mora, Sweden is a professional freeskier and alpine ski racer.Olsson is known for his invention of several new double flips, including a D-spin 720 into a flatspin 540 , a switch double rodeo 1080 , a double flatspin 900 , and a switch cork 720 to flatspin 540 .Olsson made his...

. Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...

 wore black tie
Black tie
Black tie is a dress code for evening events and social functions. For a man, the main component is a usually black jacket, known as a dinner jacket or tuxedo...

, white shirt
Dress shirt
A shirt, or dress shirt in American English, is a garment with a collar, a full-length opening at the front from the collar to the hem, and sleeves with cuffs. Shirts are predominantly used by men, since women usually wear blouses...

, shoe
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...

s and cuff link
Cuff link
A cufflink is a decorative fastener worn by men or women to fasten the two sides of the cuff on a dress shirt or blouse....

s made by J.Lindeberg to the 63rd Golden Globe Awards
63rd Golden Globe Awards
----Picture - Drama: Brokeback Mountain ----Picture - Musical or Comedy: Walk the Line ----TV Series - Drama: Lost ----TV Series - Musical or Comedy: Desperate Housewives ----Miniseries or TV Movie: Empire Falls ...

 in 2006. Kevin Dillon
Kevin Dillon
Kevin Dillon is an American actor.Kevin Dillon is also the name of:*Kevin Dillon , character from Rodman Philbrick's young adult novel Freak the Mighty and the film based on it, The Mighty...

 also wore a J.Lindeberg jacket in his role as Johnny "Drama" Chase in the "Good Morning, Saigon" episode of the HBO series Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...

.

Famous former models of the brand include Juliette Lewis
Juliette Lewis
Juliette Lewis is an American actress and musician. She gained international fame for her role in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear for which she was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress...

, Carl Barât
Carl Barât
Carl Ashley Raphael Barât is an English musician, actor and author. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and recently debuted a solo album, but is best known for being the co-frontman with Peter Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines.-Early life:Carl Barât was...

, Alison Mosshart
Alison Mosshart
Alison Nicole Mosshart is an American singer, songwriter and occasional model best known as the lead vocalist for the indie rock band The Kills and blues rock band The Dead Weather. She started her musical career in 1995 with the Florida punk rock band Discount which disbanded in 2000...

 and Dave Gahan.

Founding

Johan Lindeberg
Johan Lindeberg
Johan Lindeberg is a Swedish fashion designer.-History:*He was the Marketing Director of Diesel from 1990 until 1996.*He was the CEO of Diesel US from 1994 to 1996....

 founded the J.Lindeberg brand in 1996. Johan who previously had been the marketing director of Diesel resigned from his duties at the Italian denim brand, fatigued from constantly restraining his own visions, and decided that he wanted to create something of his own.
Whilst traveling through Europe on his motorcycle he visualized a fashion brand that reflected his personal and creative values as just as much as his own identity. A brand that Johan himself would love to wear, a brand he couldn’t find anywhere else.

Johan launched his brand during the summer of 1996 in Stockholm and New York simultaneously. The brand was named J.Lindeberg after Johan’s own signature together with a number of investors the company was born, Johan himself committing all his financial resources in the start up.
Two parallel offices where assembled, one in Stockholm’s port district and one on 57th street Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 in New York, as the brand would be international form the start. With himself as Creative Director
Creative Director
A creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....

 Johan assembled a small team of designers headed by Roland Hjort who was recruited from the Swedish apparel brand H&M
H&M
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....

.

21st Century Lifestyle

The first design concept was called 21st Century Lifestyle and the collection was showcased in New York during the Fashion Week Fall Winter 1997 Season, featuring men’s fashion and golf clothing. Johan has always expressed a profound interest in active sports and the idea of transforming elements and ideas from the high fashion industry into sportswear. Since he had a past in one of the worlds largest denim manufactures it would have been obvious for him to build his brand around denim
Denim
Denim is a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This produces the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim has been in American usage since the late 18th century...

 products, but Johan didn’t want J.Lindeberg to be labeled a denim brand. Therefore he initially did no denim and instead he presented a 60's rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 inspired look.

The collections themselves and especially the golf collection was unique and caught serious attention. To further develop the golf concept Johan turned to his old friend and successful PGA-tour golfer Jesper Parnevik. Regarded as one the most notorious mavericks in golf fashion, Jespers character suited J.Lindeberg’s creative concept perfectly and also added a professional value to the collections. One of Jesper's more notorious appearances dressed with J.Lindeberg was when he won the Byron Nelson Classic championship in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 wearing a pair of pink chinos.

Critical Acclaim

J.Lindeberg steadily gained momentum and became critically acclaimed by key figures in the fashion industry and early adopters on the streets. The first official award came in 1999 when Swedish Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...

 presented J.Lindeberg with the "Designer of the Year" award. The following year (2000) J.Lindeberg received the prestigious "Guldknappen" (golden button) award as "Most Innovative Designer."
Later in 2000 J.Lindeberg opened its first flagship store in central Stockholm, with a unique interior concept that breathed heavily in symbiosis with the collections. Several more concept store would follow shortly follow in major metropolis such as, New York, Tokyo, Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

 and Los Angeles.

By 2002 J.Lindebergs annual turnover had reached 219 million SEK, selling at 500 stores worldwide. Now Johan decided to feature his collections for the first time as a part of official New York Fashion Week Schedule in Bryant Park. At this point J.Lindeberg took a serious step onto the international high-end fashion scene and became the first Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

n brand to be featured in several international heavyweight fashion editorials.
With the brands international recognition several Hollywood and music celebrities got their eyes on J.Lindeberg and Johan’s creations became a familiar sight on red carpets and premieres. For instance, J.Lindeberg has been worn on several official occasions by Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...

 from U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

, Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...

, Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...

, Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...

, The Killers, and Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...

, among others.

In mid 2002 Johan Lindeberg and his wife Marcella, whom he met at Diesel, permanently relocated to London to set up a base for J.Lindebergs international marketing operations and a UK showroom with the purpose of expanding the brand in one of largest fashion markets in Europe. Short thereafter the first women's collection was revealed under the supervision of Marcella.
Johan also announced that J.Lindeberg would for the first time present a full denim concept for both men and women.

With both genders featured in the different ranges J.Lindeberg was ready to take a step into fashion industries center stage, the Milano Moda Uomo Fashion week. After a highly celebrated show, work began on reconstructing J.Lindeberg's worldwide stores to also carry the women's collection.

Simultaneously as work began on the women's collection Johan revealed his new complement to the J.Lindeberg, the J.Lindeberg Future Sports. This concept fused futuristic attitudes and elements with bursting retrospective design visions of the future, such as the Lamborghini
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...

 race cars of the early 90's. Apart from a full men's and women's collection J.Lindeberg Future Sports also carried a completely new store concept and the first store opened in central Stockholm.
The season after its initiation The Future Sports Concept produced the first J.Lindeberg ski Collection that was showcased together with the Fall/Winter 05 season in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

. The face of J.Lindeberg Ski became the renowned Swedish free skier Jon Olsson
Jon Olsson
Jon Olsson born in Mora, Sweden is a professional freeskier and alpine ski racer.Olsson is known for his invention of several new double flips, including a D-spin 720 into a flatspin 540 , a switch double rodeo 1080 , a double flatspin 900 , and a switch cork 720 to flatspin 540 .Olsson made his...

 who among many was regarded as one of the best skiers in the world.

The J.Lindeberg Ski collection was exhibited at ISPO-fair in Germany where it won the "Newcomer Of The Year" award. More concept collections would appear the following years, including, swimwear, sunglasses and shoes.

Restructuring

In 2007, the same year as J.Lindeberg celebrated its 10th anniversary, cracks began to appear in the internal structure of the brand. The decreasing profitability of the company had begun to put heavy pressure on the relationship between Johan Lindeberg and J.Lindebergs major shareholders. The issues were resolved when the capital investment firm Proventus
Proventus
Proventus is a privately held Swedish investment company founded in 1980 by Robert Weil. It was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange from 1982 until 1995....

 became the new principal owner of J.Lindeberg together with Stefan Engström, who also became the company’s new CEO. Before committing to J.Lindeberg, Stefan had been one of the co-founders of Swedish sports apparel brand Peak Performance
Peak Performance
Peak Performance is the name of a sports clothing brand from Sweden. Since 1998 it has been an independent brand of IC Companys, previously Carli Gry....

, which had grown to become one of Sweden’s largest fashion exports.

In the wake of the restructure Johan Lindeberg himself expressed a wish to become more creatively sovereign, weary his increasing administrative assignments Johan wanted to focus on the creative concept of the brand and the inspiration of the collections. He therefore once again adapted the role of Creative Director and relocated together with Marcella back to New York, where it all started.

Since the its partial re-incarnation the company has advanced in several areas, including the reintroduction of the J.Lindeberg Ski Collection headed by Fredrik Dahl who previously was the design director at "The North Face
The North Face
The North Face, Inc. is an American outdoor product company specializing in outerwear, fleece, shirts, footwear, and equipment such as backpacks, tents, and sleeping bags....

".
J.Lindebergs own retail concepts where remade by the renowned French/Swedish architect Albert Francois Lenoard. The first of the new store concepts to open was the Flagship Store on in central Stockholm.

The most recent complement to the J.Lindeberg team became the appointment of Pierangelo D'Agostin as Design Director with the responsibility of all concepts. With a history as design director at Jil Sander
Jil Sander
Heidemarie Jiline 'Jil' Sander is a minimalist German fashion designer and the founder of the Jil Sander fashion house....

 and his own Japanese luxury brand hLam, Pierangelos experiences of craftsmanship and a distinct feeling of modern design will be key elements in the coming collections. The first collections featuring Pierangelos design will be the Spring/Summer 2010 main collection.

External links

  • J. Lindeberg Homepage Dagens Nyheter
    Dagens Nyheter
    is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It has the largest circulation of Swedish morning newspapers, followed by Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, and is the only morning newspaper that is distributed to subscribers across the whole country. In 2009 DN had a circulation of 316,000, reaching 881...

    : J Lindeberg äntligen lönsamt - "J Lindeberg finally making profit", September 11, 2004 article Aftonbladet
    Aftonbladet
    Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...

    : Brad Pitt klär sig svenskt - "Brad Pitt wears JL", January 18, 2007
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