Gudrun Sjödén, celebrates fifty years in business and is enjoying being back at the helm

Selvedge readers have long been supporters of the work of Gudrun Sjödén, her colourful designs have been a constant companion throughout my life and I was delighted to catch up with her in the New York store at 50 A Greene St, Soho, New York, as she celebrates fifty years in business and is back at the helm. I was curious to learn the secrets of her success, so we sat down to discuss business and enjoy a cup of tea, before the holidays.

PL: One of the things that you do particularly well is your connection to your customers. You know exactly what looks good and what the customers want in their lifestyle. Is this because you do lots of market research or is it an intuitive connection to a certain kind of woman? 

GS: I meet my customers very often here in the stores and on the street, and then they write to me and come with suggestions, so I have a tight connection with my customers. That's also the reason why the brand is like it is. Otherwise, if you sell fashion, it's always a salesperson selling to a department store or to other stores, and so there are a lot of barriers in between. I meet the customer directly.

PL: So you have personal conversations with customers and are not fenced behind PR people and gatekeepers. 

GS: Yes, and always when I come into a store like here people begin to talk to me because they recognise me and they feel that they know me. That is one of the reasons that they think they know me.

PL: Every collection has featured beautifully drawn botanical prints and an enduring motif for as long as I can remember. These prints are life-affirming, and they're joyous. I would like to know about that design process. Is that because you start by painting from life? Where does your design inspiration come from?

GS: I paint from nature a lot. But right now I'm quite tired of all these flowers. So, I try to sketch or paint other kinds of things. Geometrics or leaves are OK. But flowers when they’re covering the whole body, I don't like that. 

PL: So we should look for geometrics and different kinds of prints next season?

GS: Yes, yes. Or a more aggressive kind of flower. Not the normal nice flowers. 

PL: It's wonderful that after 50 years, you are reinventing, still searching, still creating things. We have to, of course, talk about colour. You’re sitting wearing your beautiful, lime glasses looking stunning. So, while it seems like the Western fashion industry has turned away from colour in favour of muted palettes, you have steadfastly stuck with colour. There's social pressure for women who move into the middle part of their lives to disappear and to blend into the background slightly; it is a shame because colour gives women confidence. I think we want to wear colour. We also want permission to team, for example, a fuschia with a jade, and to have something bright and beautiful. And I wonder what it is that has driven your passion for colour?

GS: I mean, in Sweden or Stockholm, there is a lot of black and grey. And here in New York, it's the same. But I don't know how it is in Sweden's countryside. I think they use more colours. And also in the countryside of New York. They also use more colour, or do you think? Or have you only been in New York? 

PL: Well, I went to a hand-knitting festival in Rhinebeck, about two hours from New York, and there was a lot of colour. A lot of women came in sweaters they had knit themselves. And what I thought was unique about it is, that we don't have in the UK we have the knitting and stitching show. But they also had livestock. So they had sheep and goats. And that was magical. 

GS: I will try to visit if I am in New York next, but  I only have a little time now I'm the CEO again. 

PL: Oh, are you? That's very interesting. Now, what has brought that about? 

GS: Because my CEO has cancer, so she's sick, and she is very tired. So we decided it would be good for me to be the CEO for a while. It is a tough job. But it's nice also. 

PL: I certainly empathise with protectiveness over your brand. I certainly feel that for Selvedge. 

So, after 50 years in business, there must have been highs and lows. What has been challenging? 

GS: One time, in the 80s, we were up in California and had a business there. We had two stores and also sold by mail order, and we had no money at that time, so we had to close down, and that was one of the bad things, one of the really bad things. In the beginning, People told me it takes two years to get a company running, but after a while, I understand, it takes ten years. 

PL: And, you know, there are ebbs and flows, and some things you can control, and some things you can't control. How do you account for a pandemic, for instance? 

GS: And that was a very special experience, the pandemic. And I mean, now we nearly have forgotten it. 

PL: Absolutely, yes. We recently had our Winter Fair in London, and it was the first one we'd had since the pandemic that was more successful than 2019. So, after that, you know, it's taken a few years to really get back, but now the atmosphere feels like it never happened. 

GS: But the thing was, when the pandemic was happening, we couldn't understand if it would be one year, two years, ten years, or fifty years. We couldn't understand that. So this was a very difficult thing. 

PL: So, that's the lows, what about the highs? 

GS: This fiftieth anniversary has a big high. We have made special collections, and we have celebrated in different ways. We had an exhibition in Stockholm. And I have been looking into a lot of old boxes with photos and clothing, etc. It has been nice to see what we have done. It has been an adventure, ten collections per year and in fifty years. I would have never imagined I would be here now as a twenty-year-old screen printing on my kitchen table in Stockholm all those years ago.

PL: Thank you, Gudrun, for sharing your experiences and ambitions for the future. You can buy Gudrun Sjödén’s new collection at www.gudrunsjoden.com