Elin

I've mentioned Elin Kling before because she was the first blogger to ever collaborate on a large design project, for H&M.  It's only recently that I've became vaguely obsessed with her though, in that way that you do when someone has the hair colour, wardrobe and life of your dreams.

My shopping list for summer has just increased tenfold.  I need a sheer peasant blouse, a jaunty black hat, tortoiseshell cat eye glasses, multipurpose skinny jeans, a cut-out dress, a perfectly-fitted boyfriend blazer and much much more.

I also very much need to practice my posing, a la Elin.

(Images: Elin Kling)

Designer Bloggers

Arguably Sweden’s most famous blogger, Elin Kling made sartorial headlines last week due to her design collaboration with huge high-street players H&M.  The first collection of this kind on such a high-profile scale, it consists of eleven bohemian-inspired pieces, nine of which are items of clothing, and two of which are accessories.  

The lack of items and simplicity of design makes it a capsule collection, mimicking the pared-down fashion that is synonymous with Stockholm street style.

In a press release from H&M, Kling supports this idea, stating; 

“The collection is minimalistic and raw, but with bohemian elements, something that reflects my personal style well.”

The collection will appear only in Sweden, leaving the international consumer to wonder if H&M is planning to pair up with bloggers in other countries, or if any other brands will jump on the collaboration bandwagon.

I asked one of Britain’s most illustrious fashion bloggers, Disneyrollergirl, for her insight on this.  She surmises:

"For a brand as big as H&M to take on a blogger as guest designer is huge news because up until now, its collaborations have been with established international designers. It's not the first time a brand has worked with a blogger as a guest designer but because of the size of the H&M brand, this is significant and I imagine many more will jump on the bandwagon. Well-read bloggers do have celebrity-like followings so it makes sense that brands will want to utilise this - they get the blogger's creative input, a slice of their audience and all the media coverage that comes with the story."

I’m inclined to agree with Disneyrollergirl, and it makes business sense to the blogger as well as the big brand.  Of course, we've seen how bloggers have come to be recognised as a respected source of fashion knowledge with regards to writing and commentating on the fashion industry, but this design collaboration is a bit of a twist.


As a blogger and an avid blog reader, I'm eager to see how the partnership between the established fashion industry and the debatably independent online contributors develops further.

Now what’s Swedish for vive la revolution?

(Image courtesy of  Uniartfashion)