At Kettel Atelier Vintage Linens Are Remade Into Fashion With Sex Appeal—Get a Sneak Peek of Sunday’s New Drop

Home—specifically the linen closet—is where the heart is for Laura Tønder, a Dane based in Spain, who last month launched Kettel Atelier, a line of one-off garments made from vintage home textiles and deadstock fabrics. As the designer gets ready to post her second drop this Sunday, August 20, she shares an exclusive sneak peek with Vogue Runway.

Tønder’s face and perky style is likely familiar to those who follow Vogue Runway’s street style coverage. This blonde is unafraid of color and experimentation and in this, the designer says on a call, she takes after her “flamboyant” paternal grandmother, a Norwegian who moved to Denmark “for love,” and who is represented in the new capsule in the form of a stretchy pleated floral. Kettel Atelier is a family affair through and through; Tønder’s mother taught her her to sew, knit, and crochet, and her father, a collector of vintage automobiles, gave the designer a love for vintage. He also lent his last name to this project. (Tønder was given her mother’s maiden name in order to carry it on.)

A graduate of fashion school in Denmark, Tønder worked for a number of brands in Copenhagen before accepting a job with Zara, fulfilling a lifetime dream to work outside of her home country. Soon to turn 30, the designer recently left her job and with an “if not now, then when?” attitude, and decided to take a dive into the unknown. Her first collection, puzzled together from linens found at flea markets in Denmark, was remarkably airy, and clearly tied back to the designer’s own style. Stumbling across the pieces on the heels of the spring 2024 shows in Copenhagen was especially intriguing because what Tønder developed alone in Spain was in direct parallel to the vintage linen looks shown on the runway (see examples in VR’s trend report) as well as in street style where doilies and delicate white work laddering added a neo-rustic element into the mix.

Kettel Atelier is one of many lines built upon upcycling, and Tønder makes no claims otherwise. “I have to say it’s not like a unique idea…craft and craftsmanship and repurposing things is obviously such a movement right now; everybody’s just experimenting. I think it was The Row that did some full crochet dresses, and then I went to a flea market and I saw these vintage linens, and I was like, ‘I’ll just do some garments in it,’ and [Kettel Atelier] really just like came from that, it didn’t come from me thinking that it should be this massive business idea or anything.” This idea of not feeding into a machine is also very au courant. Like other millennials, Tønder is prioritizing personal fulfillment rather than focus solely on financials.

In addition, this Dane embraces the messiness of an existence. “Part of [my] manifesto is that things are part of life,” says the designer, who loves to find beauty in imperfections; like placing drape to hide a stain or embroidering a small flower over a tear. “Would you stop wearing a bag because it has a little scratch? No. You don’t do that because you spent like 2000 Euros on the bag,” she observes. “I think we have to let our clothes live a little bit.”

Working with flea market finds allows Tønder to stay at a price point that keeps Kettel pieces fairly accessible. Access to good design at fair prices is the mantra of Scandinavian design, and it’s what this designer appreciates about what she sees in her hometown. “I feel like fashion week in Copenhagen is like a festival. It’s so full of personal style…, it’s about the clothes, it’s like, ‘Hey, we have a bunch of gorgeous girls and guys, we have some really cool clothes, but actually, wearable and actually rather affordable [that] people can wear on and off the runway and in their own way.” One of the interesting things about Kettel Atelier is how Tønder has combined her Danishness with her love of Spain. “I just fell in love with ease, and the way the [women dress], this half-nakedness, the Bohemian vibes; it was something that completely blew me away,” she says. There’s a body consciousness to Tønder’s designs that is surprising. Surely, a grandmother never imagined the flowers hand–embroidered on a napkin winkling referring to nipples on a halter top.

Kettel Atelier, isn’t aimed at fashion insiders but meant to be inclusive. Right now Tønder is a team of one, working with one dress form, and although she makes things adjustable and stretchy to accommodate different sized, the range, at this point is narrow. “This project is so small, and I want to, to keep it like that for at least a while,” notes the designer notes. “It has to be just fun. It has to be just enjoyable. Right now, I hand write a note with every order, and I like that.” Women who want something special, something vintage while flirtatious and sexy are sure to feel similarly to Kettel Atelier.

Kettel Atelier’s second drop will go on sale Sunday, 20 August at 8PM CET; 2PM EST.