LINDEN
Linden: Keep It Small, Don’t Waste
For the next couple weeks, until Christmas, Jennifer Lynn Krischer is working overtime at the Los Angeles Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker.”
She’s working as a costume assistant, fussing over the ornate styles for the holiday favorite. Then she will shift gears to her other full-time job, founder and designer for Linden, a made–in–Los Angeles line of sustainable clothing for women. The line is intended for women who think about fashion first, not if a fabric is eco or not. The designer, who goes professionally by the name Jennifer Lynn, did not want to compete against other sustainable brands. She wanted to make an alternative to them.
“I didn’t want to fall into pitfalls of making what was already out there,” she said of eco lines.
Lynn wanted to make a line that was affordable, contemporary and just happened to be made with materials considered to be ecologically sustainable such as recycled wools, fibers made from plastic bottles and nontraditional leather made from fish skin.
The Fall 2015 Linden collection was on the runway at Los Angeles Fashion Week in March. Looks included a wool jersey circle skirt paired with a sheer, slouchy sweater. Other looks were moto leggings, which featured a sleek leather look. Other leggings featured sheer panels. Summer 2015 and upcoming collections will feature maxi dresses.
Retail price points for the pieces range from $30 for a tank top to $148 for a maxi shirt dress. Lynn said that she can afford to keep her prices low because she only sells her clothes on her website (www.lindenca.com). However, devoting her label’s business solely to her own site will keep the collection small.
Keeping the line small is what got her interested in sustainable fashion and eco fabrics. When she used mainstream fabrics when she started the brand, she had to order in bulk and ended up wasting a lot of material. The eco-fabrics dealers she works with allow her to order in small portions that she considers manageable.
“I’ll continue to put out small collections. They are dressed-up basics. They won’t go out of style,” she said.
