Gwyneth Paltrow has been hired as the new face of Swedish fashion label Lindex for their Spring 2012 campaign titled “Modern Preppy.” Goop replaces Reese Witherspoon, who fronted the Autumn 2011 campaign that was presented as a highly affordable fashion line. Reese’s relatively down-to-earth vibe seemed to be a pretty good fit for Lindex, but fashion lines can be fickle and probably just wanted to move onto the next face. The real question is this — why has Goop signed onto promote a clothing line that presents itself as accessible to the unwashed (or even worse, uncleansed) masses?

Perhaps Gwyneth has fallen prey to the same erroneous train of thought — “those peasants will never find out” — that she fell prey to while shilling frozen, processed food for an Austrian grocery store. After all, Lindex is even more down-market than Goop’s Coach campaign, but Lindex is headquartered in Sweden, which is so far away from uncultured America, right? The strange thing though is that I feel like I’ve already seen Gwyneth in a few of these outfits, albeit much pricier versions. Like this one:

Goop has also starred in a little behind-the-scenes featurette to promote the new line. In addition to the visual delight of Goop working a series of pretentious poses, the video also treats us to her grating voice. She actually says, “Sexy cool or easy chic? What am I? I’m both.”

When Lindex presents its new collection in the big spring campaign, its model will be the talented actor and fashion icon, Gwyneth Paltrow.

Lindex’s big spring campaign will feature a Modern Preppy look. The campaign was inspired by the sporty, relaxed lifestyle that is characteristic of USA’s East Coast gems, such as Long Island and the Hamptons, yet with a certain Scandinavian touch. The combination results in a fresh, new feeling.

“It’s simply great that Gwyneth Paltrow will be modelling the new collection. She is a fashion icon, synonymous with the Modern Preppy concept, which makes her perfect for this role. She also personifies the Lindex brand in an exceptional way because she is such a positive, warm and energetic person. We are overjoyed,” says Johan Hallin, Director Concept & Marketing at Lindex.

When Gwyneth isn’t wearing elegant gowns on the red carpet, her style preference is stripes and “casual chic”. The decision to use her as Lindex’s model was an easy one, since she is practically synonymous with the Modern Preppy look.

“I really love the clothes! I would never represent a brand that I wouldn’t wear myself. I love the top and shorts that I was photographed wearing, as well as the chinos and blazer. These are the kinds of clothes that I wear everyday. I also love stripes and I wear striped clothing practically all the time,” says Gwyneth Paltrow about the collection.

[From Lindex]

Okay, I will concede that Goop looks somewhat at home in these clothes, but there is no way in hell that she would have ever spontaneously recommended this line in her weekly newsletter unless it cost more than most families’ monthly gross income — because she inherently believes that a $400 t-shirt feels so much softer against the skin than a commonly affordable one. Still, a couple of these outfits don’t look bad, and Goop did okay here even if she’s wearing cheap (to her) clothing.

Photos courtesy of Lindex