The Story behind the Linton Ava Dress.

Photographed by Cyril Labbé.

On my first visit to the Paris fabric fair, I stumbled upon the Linton stand, where I was taken by the designs and colors of their tweeds.

In 1912, Scotsman William Linton founded Linton Mill in a small town near the Scottish border and very close to the famous Lake District. In the beginning, Linton employed two salesmen who used ponies and traps to travel around the Lake District, buying wool and selling woolen suits. During this time, William Linton became close friends with Captain Molyneux, a Parisian dressmaker. In the 1920s, Captain Molyneux introduced William Linton to a young woman named Coco Chanel, beginning a relationship that would flourish over the years. As a result of this association, Chanel became Linton's biggest and most prestigious client.

Despite my meagre resources, I wanted to use one of his fabrics for the first prototypes of our Ava Dress. It’s amazing how the right fabric can completely transform a design, making it something truly memorable.

The result? A sleeveless shirt dress that exudes effortless elegance in a stunning yellow tweed, woven with splashes of unexpected colors.