Style Q&A With Matilda Djerf

Ava: Walk me through your look. What was the inspiration behind it?

Matilda: I'm one of those people who can't really plan outfits. I wake up and ask, what mood am I in? How am I feeling, and how do I want to dress around that? I've been wearing heels and really dressed-up things lately, so today I just wanted to be comfortable. I'm wearing my favorite baggy pants. I've had them for three years, and I sized up three or four sizes, so they're really loose. A little baseball tee, and then my Djerf poncho. It's my favorite piece right now.

Ava: Who or what influences your style the most? Is it a place, a person, a decade?

Matilda: So many different things. It's how I feel, where I've been. Am I in a new city? Have I seen new things? Everything kind of goes into it. For me, fashion is so much about self-expression and feeling things. Even with designing for Djerf, or designing the store, or designing an event, I always want to make people feel things.

Growing up, my mom has always inspired me. She's a social worker; she's been a social worker my entire life. She's the coolest. She has this beautiful pink hair, and when everybody else in her hometown dresses in these flowy dresses, she's always in her jeans and t-shirt. She's always been so herself, and that has inspired me to go after what I actually want to wear and what I feel good in, rather than, "Oh, what is everybody else wearing? I need to do the same."

Ava: What’s a piece in your wardrobe right now that you will never part with?

Matilda: I wore this vintage Tom Ford Gucci strapless white dress for my engagement party. It's one of those vintage finds that I don't think I can ever part ways with. It's a piece I would pass down to my daughter if I have one.

Ava: Describe the shift in your personal style from when you first started sharing outfits to where you are today.

Matilda: Today I'm so much more confident and comfortable in myself, and I think that reflects in what I wear. I started my company when I was 21, and I had my Instagram when I was 19. At that age, you're still figuring so many things out. I mean, I'm still figuring things out. I always want to evolve and become a new version of myself.

One day I'll be in baggy jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, and the next day it's high heels and a tight dress. I love having the different versions of me exist. There are so many different versions of yourself, and when you let all of those coexist, that's when you find your home in yourself.

Ava: How does New York street style compare with Sweden's, and has it influenced your designs at all?

Matilda: You see a lot more activewear in New York than you do in Sweden. A lot of people walk around in workout clothes, and I think people are good at dressing it up, so it looks a little fun and elevated. We have a new category coming to Djerf next year, which I think plays into that a little bit, because I don't ever want our customers to compromise on anything, whether it's style, comfort, pricing, or materials. New York style inspires that way of thinking.

Ava: Activewear has definitely been dominating. But I do like how people are dressing it up more.

Matilda: Yeah, and again, I think it comes back to just being comfortable and dressing in whatever makes you feel good. I love being able to do a little ankle pant with a blazer and ballet flats, and then I'm ready for the day. Like with our weekend blazer that we have here in the store. That just elevates any outfit. All of a sudden, you feel dressed up, even though you're in the most comfortable things.

Ava: If you were styling a New Yorker for a fall weekend, what would the outfit be?

Matilda: I feel like everybody has a pair of vintage jeans at home, so I would take something from their own closet and pair it with a basic tee or tank. We have a v-neck wool sweater that's produced in Italy. It's 100% responsibly sourced wool. I'd put our wool coat over it, and then I throw a poncho over it, because it gets a little chilly. I love wearing it as a scarf as well. And then a pair of sunnies, and you're ready to go.

Ava: You've talked about writing in your journal at 16 on a flight to New York, imagining your future. Now you're opening your first permanent store here. What would you tell your 16-year-old self?

Matilda: It's such a full-circle moment. I don't even think I could tell my 16-year-old self something. It feels too big. When I was 16, I had no clue that I'd be doing what I'm doing today. I remember walking around SoHo in a pair of black skinny jeans, a leather jacket, Nike Air Forces in a white leopard print, and a pink Michael Kors bag. If I could just tell myself, "Girl, in X amount of years, you're going to have your own store here." I don't think she would ever believe it.

I was here this morning visually merchandising the space, hanging things differently, putting things up. Then we walked out, and I was like, "Oh my God, I love having a store. This is so fun. This is such a dream." It feels like a parallel universe. I'm so blessed.

Ava: What did your earlier pop-ups teach you about the New York customer that shaped this store?

Matilda: Our New York pop-ups made me realize that New Yorkers, or tourists, or visitors, just want a place to feel inspired, hang out, and feel good about themselves. With pop-ups, the sense of urgency and the rush is so crazy, and for me, that's not a good customer experience. I want people to come in here and be able to sit down, touch the items, try things on, and have that moment for themselves. Every single time I've done a pop-up, I've been like, "Oh my God, I just want to make this permanent," because I want people to have time to enjoy themselves.

Ava: How did you decide how to design the store?

Matilda: I really wanted it to feel like people come home when they come in here. New York is such a busy city, which is so fun, because you have that pulse. But I want our flagship to be that space where people can come in and be like, "This is nice, this is relaxing. I can have a moment for myself in here." So when designing it, I wanted to make sure that we had places for people to sit, and that the fitting rooms were nice. The space is so much designed around these custom-made cushions in our hand-painted prints.

And then little cute photo moments. I think that's also fun, because we're all taking photos, we're all content creators. It's so fun for people to just sit down, have a drink, and have a little photo shoot.

Ava: This nook feels like it came straight out of a home. Where did it come from?

Matilda: I have this little nook in my kitchen, and I was like, how can I bring this into the store? I love interior design. Again, it's a way for me to make people feel things. When they come in here, I want them to feel at home, and I want that nostalgic, familiar feeling. I think interior design is a way to achieve that. I always say this space is very Scandinavian, but not the minimalistic Scandinavian that people think about when you say Scandinavian style. It's more like the country homes, the really homey, lived-in feeling.

Ava: To wrap things up, what advice would you give to girls looking to get into content creation, start their own brand, or find the confidence to put themselves out there?

Matilda: You just do it. It's so easy to overthink, and I truly think that overthinking kills the creativity and also kills your self-confidence. That initial gut feeling that you get when you see an opportunity or you think about doing something, that's the feeling that you want to follow. You have to put yourself out there to get somewhere.

Ava: It's a little scary. But you grow when you're challenged.

Matilda: Exactly. The moments that I felt uncomfortable are also the moments that I've grown the most. So you kind of have to be fine with that feeling, and have that feeling excite you in a way.

Ava: I think a lot of people can get stuck in comfortability and scared to step out of the box, but it is so important.

Matilda: Especially when you have big dreams. No dream is ever too big. I really believe that. Especially in a place like New York.

The part of Matilda's story that stayed with me most was what she said about discomfort: the moments that made her uncomfortable are the ones where she grew the most, and the trick is learning to let that feeling excite you rather than hold you back. It's an idea that makes particular sense in New York, a city that tends to put you in rooms before you feel ready for them. At 16, she walked around SoHo in awe of New York, with no idea what was coming. Now she has her own store a few blocks away, and a reminder for anyone still waiting to feel ready: "No dream is ever too big."