Deborah Lindquist on Fashion, Reclaimed Materials, and Doing Things Her Own Way

Deborah Lindquist has spent over four decades exploring the possibilities of fabric, form, and design. From a farm in Minnesota to a studio in Los Angeles, she has built a career turning vintage fabrics, reclaimed materials, and unexpected textiles into garments that are both imaginative and carefully crafted. Known for her work with upcycled cashmere sweaters, sari remnants, and retired military parachutes, Lindquist combines meticulous craftsmanship with a clear eye for design, producing pieces that are unique, expressive, and intentional. Over the years, her work has attracted attention from boutiques and musicians alike, including Gwen Stefani, Rihanna, and Pink, while being featured in publications such as Elle, WWD, and LA Times

Deborah Lindquist has spent over four decades exploring the possibilities of fabric, form, and design. From a farm in Minnesota to a studio in Los Angeles, she has built a career turning vintage fabrics, reclaimed materials, and unexpected textiles into garments that are both imaginative and carefully crafted. Known for her work with upcycled cashmere sweaters, sari remnants, and retired military parachutes, Lindquist combines meticulous craftsmanship with a clear eye for design, producing pieces that are unique, expressive, and intentional. Over the years, her work has attracted attention from boutiques and musicians alike, including Gwen Stefani, Rihanna, and Pink, while being featured in publications such as Elle, WWD, and LA Times. Beyond her garments, Lindquist teaches her approach through online courses and mentored workshops, helping others learn to see the potential in materials that might otherwise be discarded. In this interview, we sit down with Lindquist to explore her creative process, her approach to sustainable design, and the journey that has led her to become a pioneer in eco-conscious fashion. Read the interview below.

. Beyond her garments, Lindquist teaches her approach through online courses and mentored workshops, helping others learn to see the potential in materials that might otherwise be discarded. In this interview, we sit down with Lindquist to explore her creative process, her approach to sustainable design, and the journey that has led her to become a pioneer in eco-conscious fashion.

I had the honor to catch up with Deborah, below.

You’re known for your innovative use of recycled and sustainable materials; what first inspired you to take an eco-conscious approach to fashion design?

I have a unique connection to nature, having grown up on a farm in rural Minnesota. Today you would call us regenerative or sustainable farmers. We worked in traditional, old school methods which included crop rotation, preserving soil health, etc. I started sewing when I was 5 and by the time I was about 12, I was making a lot of my own clothing. I preferred natural fibers and taught myself how to create something real out of ideas I dreamt up. I studied fashion design formally at the University of Minnesota and Parsons School of Design in Manhattan, and became a designer for brands in NYC before launching my own brand in 1983, before Eco Fashion had a name. My historical connection to nature, to the health and well being of the soil, air and water influenced my work and what I loved. I design from a place of love and care for the planet and for the people and beings who live on it.

How has your design philosophy evolved over the years, especially as sustainability has become more mainstream in the fashion world?

It started to become mainstream in early Y2K, but that all changed. Eco designers were part of the solution to unhealthy practices in the industry which involve unhealthy, damaging chemicals used in fabric and garment production, sweatshop production, mass overproduction, and more. We had a lot of support. Journalists wrote about us, terms were created to describe what we were doing, communities were built, including international trade shows specifically for eco designers. That all changed after the economic crash of 2008. Fast fashion took over. Overproduction and over consumption of cheap, even dangerous products took over and squeezed most of the people I knew back then out of business. My production methods are primarily cut to order, custom, and made locally. I was able to pivot consistently through crazy times, including the Covid lockdown when all garment workers were deemed non-essential. My design philosophy has remained the same. I want to make women look and feel beautiful, and dress them in environmentally conscious clothing which for me includes upcycled, sustainable, and organic materials with local, USA production.

Can you tell us what guests can expect to see and experience at your upcoming trunk show in Minneapolis?

I have worked with Kathy at La Rues since I was a belt designer. Thirty years maybe? She built her business carrying unique, artistic designers who use natural fibers, and because she is a vegetarian and doesn’t carry leather in her store, she loved my belts which were made of Milanese Mesh, a knitted wire mesh combined with semiprecious stones. She is such a unique talent and curates the most beautiful selection of artistic clothing. I’ll be bringing my applique vintage cashmere sweaters, upcycled denim, retired military parachute skirts and jackets, and some one-of-a-kind special occasion dresses and bustiers. I’m also bringing some of my original belts from my archive and a sneak peek into my newly expanded hemp line and pieces in deadstock wool and cotton flannel plaid. Deadstock is leftover production fabric yardage and fits into the sustainable category since it is rescued from potential landfill.

You often merge vintage textiles with modern silhouettes. What’s your process for sourcing and reimagining those materials?

I do love vintage textiles. I transitioned from a belt designer to a clothing designer in 1990, shortly after I moved to Los Angeles from NYC. This huge pivot followed an unfortunate knock-off of my belt line which I was very well known for. This was a shocking and terrible situation I have written about, but it did push me in a new direction. “Welcome to Los Angeles, your work has been knocked off badly.” I connected with a wonderful store in Venice named BaBa and started designing one-of-a-kind pieces for them. I fell in love with some vintage stores who carried vintage curtain textiles, vintage kimonos, and other vintage clothing I could use as one-of-a-kind fabric. My early pieces were jackets, vests, and bustiers created from these fabrics. I found a pile of cast-off cashmere sweaters at a flea market in early Y2K, and designed an applique sweater line out of them. I’m perhaps best known for my work with vintage cashmere. I work with raghouse suppliers. Denim came to me a little differently—during Covid the garment district was shut down for months. I bought a 1k lb bale of denim from one of my raghouse suppliers to fill an order (he, unlike fabric stores, remained open) and now I have a denim line. Reimagining is a great word to describe what I do with vintage. I buy only the most beautiful and quality pieces, and my process is to honor the artistry of the original material while reincarnating it into something new.

Minneapolis has a growing appreciation for conscious fashion and local artistry; what draws you to bring your work here at the moment?

Minneapolis does have an appreciation for conscious fashion, which is ideal for me. I’m a Minnesota farm girl, I love working with La Rues, and have gotten to know some of her clients who love my work through trunk shows. This holiday time of year is ideal to reconnect with everyone, is a perfect time for keeping people warm in my cashmere, dressing them up for special events, creating custom pieces, and visiting my sister, nieces, and nephews who live in the Twin Cities.

How do you balance creating pieces that are both environmentally responsible and luxurious?

I’m a classically trained fashion designer and have always focused on artisan, couture craftsmanship. My fabric choices are eco, but my work has a timeless and sometimes seasonless element to it. As a designer I like people to wear my clothing forever, not just for a season. Trends come into play of course. That’s what makes it fun.

What role do you think independent designers play in shaping the future of sustainable fashion?

Independent, artisan-focused designers are absolutely key in shaping the future of sustainable fashion. Craftsmanship, fit, the story behind the work is all important and carries an energetic quality with it that people can feel. I have seen this in my own work. I put a lot of love and intention into everything I do, and from conversations with people who wear my work, people can feel it. As I mentioned, as was captured in an early interview with Lime Tv/Gaia, my intention is to make women look and feel beautiful. That being said, I do also make some men’s clothing, usually custom. I also dress dogs in vintage cashmere sweaters.

Is there a particular collection or piece that feels especially personal or symbolic to you right now?

There is a piece that is very symbolic to me. On a previous Minnesota visit, I found a photo of my Grandmother Emma and her sister Ida in the most fabulous Victorian outfit. Even steampunk-inspired. My grandmother wore steampunk before it was a thing. The sleeves are just incredible, a grandly puffy silhouette with closely fitted forearms. I recreated that silhouette in vintage denim with appliques and hand beading. I call it my Emma jacket. I also created a version of the same silhouette in deadstock wool plaid. You’ll see these pieces at my trunk show.

You’ve dressed major celebrities and worked on editorial projects; how does that compare to connecting directly with clients at an intimate trunk show?

Many times I dress celebrities through their stylists who pull wardrobe for them for events and editorial features. For instance, Rihanna wore my semi-precious beaded Chantilly lace bustier in her video “Unfaithful.” Pink wore my vintage sari bustier, also beaded with semiprecious stones, for a magazine cover. Their stylists pulled these pieces for them from my publicist at the time. But sometimes I work directly with celebrities, such as Sharon Stone who wore my bustier and gown on the cover and feature pages of More Magazine. Or my work with Pussycat Dolls when they were a burlesque troupe, before the singing group incarnation. I worked directly with the celebs and troupe to create custom performance costumes. I also worked backstage with celebs such as Gwen Stefani and Christina Aguilera to get them dressed and on stage on time for their numbers. It’s a completely different situation and has some elevated emotional aspects to it since it’s public performance, but I’m still dressing people who want to look and feel beautiful while performing. So it’s the same but different. I recently found that a costume I created for Christina was sold at auction for $8,500. Very exciting that my work with her had such lasting value.

Looking ahead, what are your hopes for the next chapter of your brand and the broader eco-fashion movement?

This refers to your question about the importance of indie eco-fashion designers. The business of fashion has become extremely unhealthy for everyone, with 80% of what is produced ending up in landfill. Honestly, what is the point of the “race to the bottom” overproduction business model of fast fashion? Many of today’s fashion designers come out of school learning just that, fast fashion, techpacks, overseas production. Skillsets are being lost, and sewing isn’t even taught in some fashion programs. This is a disservice to the industry and the survival of the industry.

During Covid I realized that my years of creating my own fashion brand on my own from a very young age gave me a big advantage. I am a Parsons-educated, classically trained fashion designer and beyond that, have developed specific skillsets in order to work with vintage materials to create something current. I’m fortunate, and these skills have carried me through all kinds of world events: NAFTA, wars, Covid lockdown, you name it. I’ve been in business for 42 years, and although some times were difficult, I learned to pivot. I always say, “I can design my way out of anything.” I want both the classical and what I call “ninja” skillsets I use every day to continue on. I created online courses, workshops, both in person and online to teach students and craftspeople the important skillsets that are being overlooked, in danger of being lost forever. I mentored many students who came to study with me for about a decade before Covid, which halted travel. Most of these students were international and wanted to learn my methods of eco-fashion design.

I created courses so that I can mentor and teach my artisan skills. I write about all of this on Substack and I am also a public speaker on eco-fashion. I’m working on a book. So my next chapter includes education and mentorship while still maintaining my clothing brand.

You can find everything on Deborah Lindquist, specifically my courses on Creating Eco Conscious Fashion, and an inside look at it all on my Substack at https://substack.com/@deborahlv.