Lindsey Mortensen is on a streak with finding creative partners.
After designing a small half-moon purse in ladylike shades of pink and burgundy with “Timeless” actress Abigail Spencer, the founder of Los Angeles-based Larsen & Lund has updated that popular silhouette along with an oversize clutch for The Pablove Foundation in crocodile-embossed patent leather.
For the children’s cancer charity, she spruced up her $325 cross-body bag and $110 clutch in a red tint that complemented the foundation’s Valentine’s Day-themed fund-raiser.
“What makes them exclusive to Pablove is the material we’re using,” she said at a Feb. 11 party at Los Angeles’ Casa Vertigo, attended by actor Joel McHale and stylists-turned-designers Emily Current and Meritt Elliott from The Great. “I really wanted to do something fun and whimsical.”
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Mortensen found a fan in Selma Blair, who carried the red clutch to accessorize her black peasant-style dress stitched with colorful embroidery as host of the fund-raiser. Among the silent auction items, including artwork by Yoshitomo Nara and David Lynch, a braided rope necklace by Mweya, a preppy tote from Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James and an army jacket lined with fake fur by Greg Lauren, Blair snapped up Steven Nereo’s calming photo of ocean waves for $400.
Other customers have responded to the bags benefiting Pablove. Mortensen said she cleared a quarter of the inventory for the collaboration in the first week. The entire process has been quite a feat for the e-commerce-only company, which traces its roots to a Kickstarter campaign held four years ago.
She is working on a potential tie-up with L.A. fashion designer Heidi Merrick, whom she met through Spencer. Not only do Mortensen and Merrick both share a clean, fresh California-inflected style, but they also are devoted to making their bags and clothes in the U.S.
“I really enjoy collaborations,” Mortensen said. “Right now my business is just me. It’s great to have another creative mind, just to enrich the product.”