Back in 1976, Swedish fashion designer Gudrun Sjödén opened her first store in Regeringsgaten, Stockholm. Within two years, the shop she’d started with her husband, Bjorn, was bringing in mail order sales of over two million Swedish Kroner.
“I was a freelance designer at that time and I was visiting a fashion exhibition in Copenhagen. I was very disappointed with how my work was presented by the companies that I designed for,” she says.
“So I met my friend, Vanya, in the ladies room, and I said to her: ‘No, I don't like this. I have to start my own brand now.’ And then I did it.”
That moment was one of the highlights of Gudrun’s long career in fashion. Since then, her fashion empire has grown; she now has stores in the UK, the US, Germany and Scandinavia.
Gudrun’s interest in fashion began after she finished art school in 1963. She started out working for fashion companies, then freelancing for a few years before launching her own brand.
“I made the styles according to what I wanted to have myself,” she says. Gudrun quickly found customers who wanted the same style – and they began to tell her what they wanted to see in her store. “I’ve always had a lot of direct contact with the consumer – this is not so common.”
In the beginning, it was not easy for her to find natural materials to work with. There was a lot of polyester around, which Gudrun was not keen on. “A lot of people think that it is good, but I didn’t like it!” she laughs.
It took time to build up her business. When she started, people told her that it would take two years for her business to run smoothly, but Gudrun says: “I used to say that it’s not two years, it’s 10 years before it runs. So you have to wait, and you have to work hard.”
Sustainability is at the heart of Gudrun’s work and it’s something that she deeply cares about. She was an industry trailblazer when she made the switch to using organic cotton in the 90s. ‘It was a big change to go from traditional cotton to organic cotton,’ she says. ‘It was not easy to find.’ The process involved working with a Greek company and she learnt a lot about how cotton is grown and produced.
One of her biggest influences was the 2006 Al Gore film An Inconvenient Truth, which focused on the science of climate change and the challenges that it presents.
Gudrun has visited India regularly to ensure that her clothes are as sustainable as possible. ‘They’re really into ecological things, more than we are,” she says. “For example, in Delhi they’ve planted 85,000 trees because of the climate and to improve the air quality, so they are also very, very into it.”
This hands-on approach has even involved building new factories to make sure they’re up to BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) standards, rather than trying to refit old factories.
As well as clothing, Gudrun’s range of products includes beautiful homewares, which echoes her fashion designs. “For me, I think it's important to have this Nordic folklore style also in the homewares, because many of our customers want to have this style in their homes.
“I have a very colourful home too. I have two homes: I have one here in the town, a flat, and then I have my country house. They are quite differently decorated.” She also painted on the walls of her country house to carry on the folk art theme.
Staying creative isn’t always easy. When Gudrun finds herself in a rut, she finds inspiration in art. She went to a recent exhibition outside Stockholm about sunflowers, and when she came home she says she began to paint sunflowers in a new way, with strong colours and more drama.
“You have to have a lot of impressions from everywhere to create new things and think of new ideas. But I’m quite curious and I travel a lot. Curiosity really drives my creativity.”
Gudrun has always been very forward-thinking. When the Pandemic hit, the company was well-prepared to handle the shift to online shopping and adapted to the challenge. The company already had decades of experience in internet shopping – they launched their first online store in 1997 before Facebook or Google even existed.
Her achievements were recognised by her country in 2007, when she received the Litteris et Artibus award from King Carl Gustaf of Sweden for her contribution to the Swedish fashion industry.
So what would Gudrun say to younger designers who want to follow in her footsteps? “They have to have a special idea that is not common, that is new and unique,” she says. “You have to work hard, because nowadays there are companies all around the world and everyone can sell to you. This is a new kind of difficulty.” Young designers need to be strong-minded to succeed, she believes.
“People think that it was easier in the 70s, but it was not,” she chuckles. “There was a lot of change during the 60s and 70s. I mean look at London, for example. A lot of new companies came up with special ideas.”
The part she always found challenging was the finance side: having the money to create new collections, to produce them and then sell the finished garments. If you have investors, you then need to worry about maximising their profits.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the company is that it’s largely online, about 80% of its sales are online with only 20% of sales in store. The company currently has around 350 employees worldwide.
Even after 50 years, Gudrun’s still thinking of what’s to come. “When I think about the future, I write down 2074,” she says. “A hundred years.”
Gudrun’s Anniversary collection
To celebrate Gudrun Sjödén’s 50th anniversary, the company has released a special collection of iconic designs. The collection features classic Gudrun patterns including stripes, polka dots, tulips and even little birds.
The vibrant colours evoke a sense of celebration and fun – perfect for an anniversary! All of the collections are named after Gudrun’s friends, which is a sweet personal touch.
See the full Gudrun Anniversary collection.
