ArtistSwedish
Lars Wallin
2 active items
Growing up in Hökåsen, a small suburb outside Västerås in the 1970s, Lars Wallin had little reason to imagine a life in fashion. The world of couture was genuinely foreign to him. That distance, however, did not last. After graduating from Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm in 1990, he opened his first atelier on Västmannagatan the same autumn - a move that marked the start of one of Sweden's most enduring careers in high fashion.
Within five years, Wallin had received the Guldknappen prize from Damernas Värld, Sweden's most read fashion magazine, recognising outstanding achievement in Swedish fashion. The award came early, but it was not a fluke. His work drew a clear through line: handmade garments built for longevity, cut with an emphasis on evening wear that drew from classic tailoring without surrendering contemporary shape. He would later receive NK's honorary award at the NK Gala, and in 2022 was honoured by Stockholm Fashion District with the Encouragement for Action prize in the Sustainable Identity category.
Wallin became a fixture at the Nobel Banquet, designing gowns for Crown Princess Victoria in 2000, 2003, and 2006, and for Princess Madeleine in 2008. He also created evening wear for Miss World contestants, winning the Best Evening Gown award at the 1997 contest. Eurovision stage costumes followed, as did bridal commissions - most publicly the wedding dress worn by Charlotte Perrelli. His archive, built over three and a half decades, spans over 200 couture pieces, and it has toured Swedish museums including VIDA Museum on Öland and Artipelag in the Stockholm archipelago, where a major retrospective in 2016 marked his 25th anniversary as a designer. A further exhibition opened at Artipelag in 2025 to mark 35 years of work.
Beyond fashion, Wallin has extended into product design. His 'Lace' tableware collection for the Swedish porcelain company Fyrklövern - white relief lacework with a platinum border on oyster-grey porcelain - became a collector's item. A subsequent 'Royal Dream' service followed, along with matching glassware. He has also created jewellery under his own name, and collaborated on art prints with the poster brand Desenio.
At auction, Wallin's work circulates primarily through regional Swedish houses. On Auctionist, 11 items have appeared across platforms including Gomér and Andersson, Norrlands Auktionsverk, and Roslagens Auktionsverk. The Lace and Royal Dream porcelain services dominate the lots, alongside occasional garments - wedding gowns, evening suits, and a distinctive pair of pine-and-metal lacquered wall cabinets that sold for 5,000 SEK. Prices remain modest, reflecting the secondary market for design objects rather than fine art, but the breadth of categories - from ceramics and glass to jewellery and clothing - reflects the full scope of a designer who has refused to stay within a single medium.