Swedish Elin Kling (born 17 February 1983) launched her personal fashion blog ‘Style by Kling’ in 2007. Within two days her blog was the country’s most-followed fashion blog. Read more about Scandinavia’s most successful blogger – and business woman.
Last May, Elin Kling was awarded “Entrepreneur of the Year 2023” (”Næringslivets Mektigste Kvinne 2023”) by the Swedish business newspaper Dagens Industri.
Kling is a country girl, from a farm in Mariestad in Västra Götaland, where she grew up with three siblings. At school, she was so clever that she was allowed to skip a grade. The first important encounter with pop culture was with the artist Robyn.
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From Nowhere to Entrepreneur of the Year 2023
At the age of 22, she moved to Stockholm, where she landed a position as an invoice manager in a financial agency. The employer also paid for economics studies and her employment was successful. Eventually was aquanited with Stockholm’s nightlife around Stureplan. Many of her friends blogged, but Kling was skeptical. How was she supposed to update a page three times a day? She who didn’t know much about fashion? And who couldn’t care less about text?
However, in 2009, Kling co-founded digital media company Fashion Networks with Christian Remröd. The two also worked together to launch the brand Nowhere. She began her career in fashion at Swedish lifestyle magazine Solo and worked as head of the fashion desk at Sweden’s second largest newspaper, Expressen. Her personal fashion blog was also hosted on the website of TV4, Sweden’s largest television network.
Same year, she became head stylist for Swedish Idol and became known as Sweden’s “idol” stylist and then a full-time blogger for which she achieved great respect in the industry.
Acclaimed designer
One year later, an email appeared in her inbox – from H&M. They wanted a meeting with Kling. At the meeting, they asked if she would create an autumn collection for them. The collaboration was top secret. No one had to know about it. Eventually, the clothing giant became so satisfied that they wanted her to create a larger collection and postponed the launch until spring 2011. She was the first blogger to design a collection for H&M. The same year, she launched her own magazine, Styleby. She served as the magazine’s fashion editor and creative director.
In 2012, Kling created a collection for Guess by Marciano. In 2014, she launched the clothing line Totême, with her husband, Karl Lindman. In recent years the brand has gained a foothold internationally.
In 2015, Kling shut down her blog, much to the dismay of many. The founding couple married in 2016 and today have two children and run Totême from Stockholm and New York.
When Kling was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Prize in May this year, the mother of two wrote on Instagram that she was both touched and proud.
“It is not often I stop and feel proud of myself, but today it was very emotional when I received the “Entrepreneur Of The Year” award from Dagens Industri. And in a room filled with Sweden’s most powerful women. Thank you for a wonderful and inspiring lunch and thank you for my award,” she wrote below two pictures of the framed award and herself.
Scandinavia’s Most Successful Blogger – and Business Woman, written by Tor Kjolberg.
Feature image (on top): © Oriflame