Caitlin Agnew
Special to The Globe And Mail
DECEMBER 14, 2016
When New York-based fashion director Mosha Lundstrom Halbert got married last year, she asked her mother, Canadian designer Linda Lundstrom, to create her dream dress. With the wedding taking place on New Year's Eve in Reykjavik, Iceland, it quickly became obvious that the bride would also need a coat, an easy proposition for Lundstrom, who first made waves in fashionable outerwear with her Laparka topper in the 1980s. The result was a cozy ivory parka with sequins.
Almost one year later, Lundstrom, along with Mosha and her other daughter Sophie, a graphic designer, have debuted a new outerwear collection inspired by their nuptial collaboration called Therma Kota. "The whole concept is technical glamour and high performance, high fashion," says Lundstrom who serves as the brand's design director (Sophie fills the role of CMO).
With a design influenced by their roots in Scandinavia and Canada, Lundstrom didn't need to look far for inspiration. "My daughters are very hard-working, ambitious, career-oriented, beautiful young women and I decided it was time for me to arm their generation of women with these wonderful coats that will take them to a meeting and out for dinner in the evening," says Lundstrom "The coats are transformative, and I think that they have the ability to transform the wearer as well."
Their first release is called the Sigrun, a limited-edition piece available for pre-order online for $690 (it will ship in February). It's a reversible style with black technical fabric on one side, a middle layer of insular fabric that reflects warmth back onto the body, and a novelty silver jacquard that's tightly woven and treated to resist water and wind on the other. Its architectural cut is achieved through angled lines at the hem, along the sides and at the bottom of the sleeves; a partially concealed belt adds definition at the waist without too much bulk on the back. Weighing in at just 1,100 grams, the piece could be ideal for travel.
"No one understands this niche like my mum and knows how to make an incredible coat and also has the relationships to make it in Canada," says Mosha, adding that it was important to the team to keep production local. "The Canadian production knows outerwear better than anyone else. And we like making coats in Canada for a Canadian population."
