Elle Macpherson pretty much lives in cashmere, and is quite particular about the colors, fit, details and quality.
And so when one of her beloved go-to brands, Linnea Lund, proposed a collaboration, she knew immediately what to propose.
“I said, ‘You know what? I think you need a bomber. Nobody does a cashmere bomber,’” Macpherson related on Thursday morning in Paris, wearing one in camel — the centerpiece of her capsule collection, which drops Sept. 1.
“I wanted to create something that I didn’t see on the market. That’s always been my vibe,” she said.
The compact collection includes a reversible sweatshirt with piping for 695 euros and a triangular scarf for 225 euros. The bomber, which boasts more than a kilogram of cashmere and thoughtful engineering in the construction and cuffs, goes for 1,495 euros.
For the launch event, Charlotte Björklund, founder of the “conscious cashmere” label, laid out an Instagram-worthy breakfast table outside her compact shop on the picturesque Place von Furstenberg, whipping up Swedish cardamom cakes with eggs from her family’s farm, and laying out platters of mini cinnamon buns, cookies and fruits.
Elle Macpherson in her cashmere sweatshirt for Linnea Lund.
Tom Newton/Courtesy of Linnea Lund
Macpherson mingled with editors and gamely posed for photos in front of the store, which displayed her exact outfit, although with a different pair of white jeans that the Australian model and wellness entrepreneur immediately coveted.
“She’s definitely a muse and inspiration,” Björklund said of Macpherson. “I’m someone that’s much more classic. What I really love about Elle is she’s much more active. She has this way of breaking down the clothes, and dressing them up in a very nice bohemian-chic way. It’s just beautiful on her.”
Forever in Birkenstocks — or The Row’s luxe version of them, as was the case Thursday — Macpherson said the cashmere specialist came onto her radar thanks to Mathilde Favier, a Dior PR director who directed the model to Linnea Lund a few years ago when she needed socks to complete her outfit to attend a fashion show.
She’s been a devotee ever since, striking up a friendship with Björklund, who worked with trend forecaster Li Edelkoort and as an independent fashion consultant before founding Linnea Lund in 2019.
“I love supporting small businesses and women-owned and -founded businesses, and this is a love project,” Macpherson enthused. “It’s a passion project, and it’s very authentic.”
For the bomber jacket, the model based the silhouette on a favorite vintage style from the ’70s. Beyond that, she sought a “cool, effortless quality” to the capsule — and superb finishing.
“I love Italian-made cashmere. It stands the test of time. It doesn’t pill,” she said. “There’s nothing worse than a cashmere that looks great for the first few years, and then it starts to lose its shape.”
Born in Australia, Macpherson now lives in Florida, but travels frequently — and lightly. “I want to take a few sweaters that I trust, and that’s why the reversible sweatshirt is so great. It’s like you get two,” she said. Meanwhile, the zippered bomber jacket “goes with everything. You can dress it up at night with great jewelry, or it can be just with a T-shirt underneath.”
Also this week, Macpherson, 62, is releasing Longevity Elixir, the latest addition to her pioneering wellness brand Welleco, founded in 2014.
Björklund said collaborations with famous women like Macpherson give a boost of attention and urgency to her fledgling brand, which operates two stores in Paris, a shop-in-shop at Le Bon Marché, and wholesales to about two dozen stores, mostly in Europe and Japan, with the U.S. her next priority.
Last year, Linnea Lund debuted a collaboration with model Inès de la Fressange on “the perfect navy crewneck” and it has another project lined up with makeup maven Gucci Westman for later in the year, Björklund noted.
