Elin’s Stylein

30.11.2012 | Blog | BY:

In 2001 Elin Nyström set out on an adventure to New York; what was initially intended to be a three month visit turned into a two year residency, swapping
her projected life as a professional gymnast — a role she had been training for since a child — for a career in fashion.

After trying her hand in styling and enrolling on a design course at New York’s F.I.T (Fashion Institute of Technology), stylist Elin soon became Stylein; an
independent fashion label which, now 11 years on, has grown to become one of Sweden’s most coveted fashion exports with stockists in over fifteen countries
worldwide.

Elin herself is a typical Swede – tall, blonde, cool and unfairly beautiful. So it was no surprise when she recently announced that unlike her womenswear
collections, she is now officially off the market: “Of course I’m going to design my own wedding dress” she told us, “I’m not really one of those girls who has
been thinking about it since forever, but I do have an idea of how I would like it to look.”

In-between discussions of possible wedding venues, cakes, flowers, and that all important honeymoon, Twin threw in the occasional question to Elin about
Stylein’s past, present and future for good measure…

 

You initially launched Stylein whilst living in New York — what made you decide to return to Sweden and carry on with the label there?
I was brought up in the countryside in Sweden so I think the contrast between my hometown and the hectic (but fascinating and fun) world of New York became too much for me. In the spring of 2003 my father was celebrating his 50th birthday and my sister got married so it seemed like a good time to return home and settle with a slightly more grounded life. I left New York as abruptly as I moved there.

Swedish design is typically known for its minimalism — do you think Stylein fits it in with this aesthetic?
We definitely have elements of minimalism in our collections — some of the cuts and shapes are quite clean, but we also have pieces that are a bit softer, feminine, and luxurious, embracing the female silhouette.  Because of our large client base we always want to be able to cater to as many different markets as possible – it becomes a very inspiring thought for me whilst designing the collection to know that it’s going to be accessible to all kinds of different women across the world.

You worked as a stylist before setting up the label — do you think this influenced your vision when it comes to design?
Probably without knowing it – I really just design pieces that I would want to wear myself. It’s as simple as that. Sometimes I might feature colours that I’m not a big fan of myself (I’m quite boring with colour in my own wardrobe) because I know it will be right for my customer, but design-wise it has to be something that I can relate to.

Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the SS’13 collection ‘Split Second’?
The new collection has quite a spiritual reference looking at the forces of nature, water, wind and light and how they can create a momentary impression that only exists there and then. Like in a kaleidoscope, elements co-exist side by side and are moved around in sequences of an organised chaos. The collection represents this through its clean straight lines and solid silhouettes with prints that were created through a colourful and playful experiment with light and shadows.

I’ve noticed that you are a bit of a social media whizz — is this an important additional feature to your business?
I love that I can now get closer to my customers through social media — I am an avid blogger, tweeter and Instagram user as I think it’s really important for my customers to see the more personal side of the label. Also it enables me to get some amazing firsthand feedback from them.

Any exciting plans for the near future?
It’s really fun designing for women but I would also love to do a menswear line at some point too. Also we are currently in the middle of confirming plans to open a new  flagship store in Stockholm that we’re all super excited about.

stylein.com


 

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