Johan Lindeberg left his corporately owned and creatively unsatisfying
eponymous label in 2007 knowing that his next line would have a generic
name, but be deeply personal. “I realized over the years that that’s when I
do the best work,” he says. As such, his months-old sportswear label BLK DNM
has become a mirror unto his life: the biker jackets, loose T-shirts, and
pleated trousers that comprise the menswear are designed in Lindeberg’s own
image; the women’s silk blouses and slim high-waisted jeans are inspired by
the females who surround him; and the film he created in collaboration with
Danish director Martin de Thurah to present his debut collection took the
breakdown of his 14-year marriage to his wife Marcella as its starting
point.
Lindeberg’s subsequent obsession with a younger woman is the
subject of Film 2, which was directed as well by de Thurah and premiered
last night at BLK DNM’s temporary shop in NoLIta. Simultaneously poetic and
unsettling, it documents model Raina Hamner as she makes her way through the
city, a narrator methodically noting her every move.
All this honestly might make some men uncomfortable, but as
Lindeberg sees it, it’s not only good for his psyche, but also right for the
world today. “2011 has been an emotional year, and we need a new brand based
on new values,” he says. “All I can do is be myself, and let people decide
if they like it or not.”
BLK DNM’s Film 2
