At work with William Rast’s Johan & Marcella Lindeberg
Johan and Marcella Lindeberg know a thing or two about denim and fashion sense. Marcellas boots? Sorry! You cant have them yet. Soon. The couple, both veterans of the Italian jeans juggernaut Diesel, moved to Los Angeles in late December as creative directors for William Rast, the L.A.-based denim line launched in 2005 by Justin Timberlake and his childhood friend Trace Ayala. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
The Lindebergs, in their downtown L.A. studio-in-the-works, are denim people, and we love it, but we like to mix it with sharper silhouettes, Johan says. We also want to tap into American culture, to have vintage inspiration but to give it a modern tweak. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
The couple go over plans. They say their ultimate goal is to create a denim brand with international appeal and the rabid following that European denim competitors such as Diesel enjoy. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Johan and Marcella Lindeberg inspect a jacket for William Rast. The designers love how Angelenos eschew the conventional and are open to taking a gamble on style. In terms of taste, L.A. is between Paris and Tokyo. For me, those are the three references, Marcella says. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Its zips and pockets galore on a jacket from Justin Timberlakes line. William Rast is no celebrity whim, and Timberlake is not a sorta-designer. Instead, hes the spokesmodel and muse who exclusively wears Johan Lindebergs designs. Theres also a womens line. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
