Creativity is the most personal thing. It comes from an individual state of mind, with each person’s output tied to their own memories, experiences and thoughts. As such, a young creative’s studio is often an extension of their work; spaces where they are free to explore, imagine and create stuff that defines, and is defined by them.

In our series, Studio Visits, we document these spaces via interviews and photographs offering a digital journey into their worlds, capturing their favourite foods, fabrics, and latest playlist additions without a filter. Think of this as an open invitation to come along.

Formed in 2013 by Kirk Millar and Sam Linder, New York label Linder first become known for its SoHo menswear boutique and bondage-inspired, unisex pieces. For FW16 the duo extended their vision to the catwalk, presenting their debut menswear collection in an East Village boxing gym, and one year later they added womenswear to the mix during a joint show. What defined this co-ed collection, similarly to Linder’s previous creative output, was that the primary focus remained on the design process.

The duo does not travel that much. Instead, they look towards films, poets, and musicians from the past, giving themselves enough time to dive deep into their internal worlds and share life experiences with each other. Their world blends both functional and lavish materials into atemporal pieces meant for the beach and the 80s themed black tie events. Although we do not recommend trying both at once,  the chameleon nature of the brand has enabled this unique aesthetic to flourish for over four years.

In late November, we visited Linder’s studio in a brownstone in Gramercy Park. Sat in his top floor studio was Kirk and his assistant Marley, who opened up about the conception of the brand and their decision to take stabs at menswear and womenswear at once.

Undine Markus: How did you guys first meet?
Kirk Millar: Sam and I met back in 2012. Both of us were doing completely different things, I was working in a store at the time while also freelancing with set design and photography, and doing assisting work.

Undine: Was that set design for…
Kirk: Photography for fashion. Sam and I met while I was doing a set and we became friends. I had a tax ID number to buy interior design stuff, he had me help him with his apartment that he was moving into. It was a serendipitous meeting…him walking into the store. I think it’s been great because it’s changed us both. We both are so engaged in this and it’s a completely different life from what either of us had before.

Undine: How did you decide to start a brand and what was the initial vision? Have you maintained that?
Kirk: It’s changed so much. I mean, in the beginning, we were kind of just figuring it out…We knew it was something in fashion, we tried an online store, we had a brick and mortar store and we closed it. It was multi-brand with our own line and now it’s very clear that we love designing clothes. We’re both very passionate about it, so it’s exciting that now each season is just building on the previous one. It’s less about trying to figure out who we are.

“I think that what we do is more aggressive in the way that New York is, a little bit of an in-your-face kind of mentality.”

Undine: And how did you guys go about dividing responsibilities? How come you chose menswear and Sam is now doing womenswear?
Kirk: At first, I think was just kind of naturally taking on certain things. We have both changed so much since we started, it’s just progression. I think the men’s and women’s thing is…it was natural after doing a few seasons of men’s and women’s. When we first started, I was passionate about menswear, so I think that was part of what started the company. It became clear through the design process that Sam was interested in doing women’s. When I was interested in fashion as a teenager, it was first about menswear, then it became about womenswear, and it’s now moved back to menswear. It doesn’t mean that I have no interest in womenswear and we obviously still exchange a lot of ideas in our process.

Undine: So, conceptually, do you guys follow the same brief for both collections or is it completely different?
Kirk: It’s completely different. Conceptually, we go off in different directions but… even the colour palettes for the next seasons are, I would say, almost polar opposites. Our way of playing with things, bringing them in, collaging, all of that approach, it’s not so different because we’ve rubbed off on each other.

Undine: And has New York been a strong inspiration for you?
Kirk: Yeah, we’re obviously not a super traditional or commercial brand, but I think that what we do is more aggressive in the way that New York is, a little bit of an in-your-face kind of mentality. New York, it’s kind of a wild place and I think that everyone’s pushing to be here and fights within their industries, or whatever that they care about, and that makes it a unique place.

Undine: Do you travel much?
Kirk: We don’t travel that much. I think that as much as it’s kind of always thought of travel as being very inspiring, for us there is a lot of, and I should speak for myself, inspiration in what’s going on with our internal world. It’s an internal creative process, something expressive and very personal.

Undine: So most of your inspirations stem from conversations? Is it also about other mediums, like painting or music?
Kirk: Oh, I definitely think that the conversations between us and what’s going on with us personally… I think that it’s a way to work, you know. It’s kind of traditionally reserved for artists, expressing something internal externally. We’re very good friends, we have those kinds of deeper conversations constantly.

Undine: And what about music or art? Do you have any particular artists that you look up to or would like to collaborate with?
Kirk: I do spend time going out somewhat and whatever, but I don’t think that either Sam or I are really part of a scene or feel attached to one. It’s such a hard question. I don’t know if there’s someone in particular that I think I would collaborate with. There are photographers that we love working with, there’s models, but as far as art, music that kind of thing, I feel like I’m usually looking at the past, not the present.

Undine: Do you have any filmmakers from the past or…
Kirk: I’ve been really into Derek Jarman. Fassbender is always inspiring, I’ve been watching a lot of documentaries on people, like Francis Bacon. I mean, it’s been a lot of gay cinema, authors, poets, for sure.

Undine: And do you guys prefer to create in silence or is there a playlist that you have?
Kirk: Well, we usually work in separate offices at the very beginning. We like to be in our own space. This season, I’ve been listening to a lot of 90s women, like Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Kate Bush, who’s not so much 90s but… The Sundays, The Smiths. When I first moved here, I listened to them all the time. I think music-wise, just as much as with film or whatever, it’s not always an intellectual choice, you know.

Undine: And bringing it back to the studio, could you take us through a somewhat typical day in the studio? Do you guys meet here every day or do you also work from home?
Kirk: I think it depends on what part of the season we’re in. At the beginning of designing a season, it’s very reclusive. But, when you have to get into the nitty-gritty of everything and those inspirations have to start actually becoming real, moving in each department, a typical day varies greatly… I think that that’s one of the funny things that I hear about other people in a similar position, that they’ll spend a lot of time outside of the office. I can’t imagine doing that. I like the routine of being able to come here, have a space to show up to and be in that headspace. I think a lot of people don’t give themselves enough time to actually do that part. We really try to maintain our design time because that’s what it’s about.

Undine: Looking back at your previous collection, could you discuss the foundation in terms the fabrics and themes?
Kirk: I think we were playing on this warped version, a fetishised version of a typical ‘dude’. We had flip flops with D rings on them and bikini briefs, you know, giving something a little more sexy, risqué, whatever. Then there were other pieces that were modular, coats or pants with shanks. It fetishised how functional a garment is and how it can transform. We were playing with that idea because it’s so specific to men to always say, “Oh, this zipper does this,” and, you know, “When you’re using this jacket, it will do this or that.” We basically did that but there was no function. Alternatively, we added a feminine touch of taking a tennis bracelet and turning it into an earring. We had a lot of diamonds and stuff, breaking some of the ideas of men’s formal wear, smashing it together. The Spring collection had a lot of black in it with pops of colour. We also had this kind of music video look, super baggy pants, low ride, kind of early 2000’s… the kind of Ivy caps, all of that it was kind of just play on a bunch of different themes which I think is what I was mentioning earlier about collaging. I think obviously in this time we’re all exposed to that so much…so much imagery, and now we all categorise different things and so it’s interesting to take those things that don’t belong and smash them together.

Follow Linder here.