BLK DNM, Johan Lindeberg insists, operates apart from the constant wax and wane of fashion trends and fashion seasons. "BLK DNM is a manifesto of everything I ve done in my life," he said, pointing at a tuxedo-gone-casual look. "This look, I ve done since 1997"—then under the auspices of J. Lindeberg, his namesake former label, and then in Milan, not New York—"and I still love it."
Lindeberg likes to say that BLK DNM is about three things: tailoring, leather, and denim. So, check, check, check. The now-classic motorcycle jacket he s tweaked to his own specs continues to fly out the door. So do the jeans, in umpteen washes and a variety of cuts. And the tailoring—"the best tailoring I ve done in my career," he says—is a bargain at $495 to $695 for jackets.
"Timeless" isn t quite the right word, but there is a sense that you ve seen these clothes before. Lindeberg, you have to imagine, wouldn t object to that. "H&M and Ikea are born in my home country," he says. "In a small country, it s value for money." BLK DNM is that, and the world is catching on. GQ named him one of its Best New Menswear Designers in America this year. "New" is a misnomer, of course. But a moto jacket and an elongated bomber in a slick, slippery Japanese satin suggests he s still got tricks up his sleeve.
