LENI KLUM DESIGNS HER FIRST DIRNDL CAPSULE FOR SPORTALM
Shot in New York, the new collection reimagines traditional Austrian dress through corset-inspired silhouettes, softer proportions and a distinctly modern point of view
Hello Beauties,
Leni Klum is bringing the dirndl into a new fashion context. For her first capsule collection with Sportalm, the traditional Austrian silhouette leaves its alpine setting behind and heads to New York — with three designs that feel softer, sharper and considerably more contemporary.
Tradition Meets New York
The collaboration between Leni Klum and Sportalm began in 2025, when the Kitzbühel fashion house created two exclusive dirndls for the model to wear at the Heidifest and Oktoberfest.
Now that relationship is evolving into Leni Klum’s first own Dirndl Capsule Collection for Sportalm.
Rather than presenting the collection in a conventional alpine setting, the campaign was photographed in New York City — the city closely associated with Klum’s personal style and lifestyle. Soho streets, architecture and the Manhattan skyline provide a deliberately unexpected backdrop for one of Austria’s most recognisable traditional garments.
The contrast works. Instead of treating traditional dress as something preserved for festivals and formal occasions, the images position the dirndl as a piece of fashion capable of moving between Kitzbühel and New York.
The Blue Dirndl
The light blue design is the most recognisably traditional piece in the capsule — and, according to Sportalm, Leni Klum’s personal favourite.
Fine checks, a feminine silhouette and a classic white apron reference the visual codes of traditional Austrian dress without making the look feel nostalgic.
The TBM note
This is the bridge between heritage and fashion: immediately recognisable as a dirndl, but styled with a lighter and more contemporary attitude.
A New Dirndl Silhouette
The more directional side of the collection appears in the two-piece designs in cream and chocolate brown.
Corset-inspired tops place greater emphasis on the upper body and can be worn either alone or layered over a white silk blouse. The styling creates two quite different moods: pared-back and contemporary on one side, more traditional on the other.
The most significant change is in the proportion of the skirt. Instead of beginning at the natural waist as a traditional dirndl typically does, the new designs sit slightly lower on the hips.
That seemingly small adjustment changes the entire silhouette. The look becomes more relaxed, the corset gains greater visual importance and the overall effect feels closer to contemporary ready-to-wear.
Why The Dirndl Is Having A Fashion Moment
Sportalm’s colour palette keeps the collection restrained: pale sky blue, soft natural tones and warm chocolate brown replace the more decorative colour combinations often associated with traditional tracht.
The result feels particularly relevant now. Traditional garments are increasingly being revisited through a fashion lens — not by removing their identity, but by changing proportion, styling and context.
Here, the New York campaign becomes part of that idea. A dirndl photographed against an urban skyline immediately shifts the conversation away from costume and towards contemporary dressing.
Style note
The corset pieces are arguably the most versatile designs in the capsule. Worn separately from the skirts, they have the potential to move easily into a modern evening wardrobe.
The TBM View
The most interesting part of the collaboration is not simply that Leni Klum has designed a dirndl collection. It is the way Sportalm is using the capsule to reposition traditional dress within a wider fashion conversation.
The collection still respects the recognisable codes of tracht, but changes enough of the proportions and styling to make the pieces feel relevant beyond Oktoberfest.
And perhaps that is why the New York setting feels so effective. The collection does not try to hide where the dirndl comes from. Instead, it asks where it might go next.
From Kitzbühel to New York, the Sportalm x Leni Klum capsule makes a convincing case for traditional dress as contemporary fashion.
Tradition, reimagined.
xo
Editorial information and imagery supplied by Sportalm / S-T-PR London. Photography by Andreas Ortner. Hair & Make Up by Georgios Tsiogkas.
