Toteme's 10-Year Anniversary Collection Is An Ode to New York City

It was “New York or nowhere” for Toteme’s New York Fashion Week runway debut in September. “That’s where I find my woman,” explains the label’s Stockholm-based designer, Elin Kling. “She has an independence and a stride, and she’s always on the go.” From the catwalk on the 48th floor of the Gordon Bunshaft–designed Solow Building in Midtown Manhattan, you could practically see the whole metropolis laid out like a Lego City set, with Kling’s muses moving purposefully across the grid.

The show was a homecoming for Kling and her husband and co-founder Karl Lindman, the branding genius behind Toteme’s minimalist-chic T-lock hardware and square monogram with six letters spelling the brand name arranged in perfect symmetry. The couple met and launched their label together in New York a decade ago—back when she was an OG fashion blogger with a thing for monochrome outfits, and he was design director of Interview magazine—before moving back to Stockholm to raise their children closer to family. “New York is our fashion capital,” says Lindman. “We lived there for a long time, and it’s really a second home.”

You could see the imprint of the most New York color—black—on Toteme’s Spring/Summer 2025 lineup, which featured several head-to-toe ensembles in inky shades. “I just have a thing where I really like to wear black in summer and then white in November,” says Kling, sounding like a quintessential Manhattanite. With the exception of a flowing cape dress in the palest shade of washed-out citrine (right), all of the looks explored the spectrum from charcoal, ebony, and licorice to cream, bone, and ivory. “It’s fifty shades of black and white,” quips Lindman.

Kling introduced gradations in tone by playing with tactile contrasts between fine-gauge lyocell-cashmere and structured compact viscose knitwear, suede, tulle, and taffeta, complemented by Byzantine-inspired gold-and silver-plated chain-link necklaces and teardrop onyx and marble pendants. “I love to explore how you can create movement in your mix of things,” says Kling. “You don’t need color—I think you can do a lot by just thinking of how to layer pieces.