After studying textiles and fashion and with several years of experience as an in-house and freelance designer, Gudrun decided to take the plunge: in 1974, she founded Gudrun Sjödén AB. The big chains were producing her pieces individually, but Gudrun was designing full collections and always viewed her garments as part of a whole. She would finally be able to embrace and develop everything she had learned throughout her studies, which made her the distinctive designer she is today.

 

The new company had a clear purpose: to create, manufacture and sell designed and coordinated garments for active leisure. Sales at that time were aimed at shops and department stores in the Nordic region, and the first collection, called “Active leisure in natural materials,” had an environmental approach to the choice of materials.

 

Despite years of professional experience, starting a company was a journey filled with challenges, lessons and insights. But Gudrun was committed to finding a uniquely expressive style and to filling the world with colorful design. Her vision required courage and innovation. Every garment should not only be part of a larger collection, but should also be imbued with a certain feeling.

 

After two years of supplying clothes to shops and department stores throughout the Nordic region, Gudrun and her team decided to stop wholesale activity to external stores. And that same year, the company opened its first ever colorful store on Regeringsgatan, in downtown Stockholm. For Gudrun, this was the true beginning of Gudrun Sjödén AB. She finally had a place to present complete collections, and in the store, her creative vision could come into full bloom.

 

In one newspaper, which referred to her as a well-known designer and clothing manufacturer, Gudrun said that she had intentionally tried to avoid the “traditional, commercialized store style.” Instead, she had designed a store as unique and inspiring as her clothing.

 

Regeringsgatan 30 is still a Gudrun Sjödén store today. The shop underwent a transformation in 2012 and is now bigger and more beautiful than ever before. The new interior decor is infused with Nordic heritage and gives visitors the sense that they’ve stepped into another world.

 

An exciting new journey began with the store on Regeringsgatan. Gudrun Sjödén now has 22 concept stores in seven countries. Over the years, each location has become a little oasis of color, design and a personal touch.

 

The Gudrun Sjödén brand has become synonymous with high quality and functionality with flair. 1978 marked the beginning of the company’s mail-order sales, an initiative that took off quickly and opened doors to customers throughout the country. Customers could easily order Gudrun’s unique and colorful designs without having to visit the shop in Stockholm.

 

By this point, the company had sales of SEK 2 million, an impressive figure amounting to over SEK 10 million in today’s value.

 

Mail-order sales introduced a new avenue for availability and became a key part of the business. It was also an opportunity for Gudrun to showcase her talent for connecting with customers on a personal and engaging level. And it paved the way for the company to open a webshop in 1997, as Gudrun Sjödén had already been shipping to customers for 20 years.

 

Thanks to their practicality and sturdy design, sailor shirts and henleys have long been favored by farmers, soldiers and workers. These timeless tops inspired Gudrun, and as blue-and-white striped French sailor shirts gained popularity, she was quick to feature stripes in her designs.

 

Gudrun introduced the classic essential striped sweater in 1978 and the garment has become a favorite of hers and of customers alike. The first essential striped sweater had long sleeves and centimeter-wide stripes. The classic design has evolved over the years, but has never lost its original charm. It has been modified with different fits and necklines, but the stripes are ever-present as a constant reminder of the classic roots of this garment.

 

The sweater has now been joined by the equally popular essential striped dress – a style that has become just as key to Gudrun’s collections. The essential striped sweater is a tribute to the past and to the future. Every stripe tells a story, every thread is woven with care, and the result warms the body and spirit alike.

 

1980 saw the beginning of a change in mail-order sales, when Gudrun Sjödén introduced the much-loved catalogs that would soon become iconic. The first catalog was a simple leaflet printed using duplex technology, and the main colors were orange and gray-green, which could be varied in different shades together. Gudrun designed the layout by hand, both the text and pictures, which gave the catalogs a unique and authentic feel.

 

Customers wanted more than just products; they wanted a story and to feel a personal connection. That’s why Gudrun filled the pages with hand-written descriptions composed in her voice. The catalog was more than a mere presentation of the collections – it became akin to a journal, where Gudrun shared her interests and joys in life. Through these stories, customers got to know not only the clothing, but also the person behind them – a feature that still permeates the catalogs today.

 

Each edition is a journey through color and design, filled with stories and anecdotes that bring richness to the reading experience. Over the years, the catalogs have become collectibles, treasured by customers who appreciate their artistry and personal tone.

 

When Gudrun Sjödén released her first collection in 1974, she was designing clothing for active leisure. That collection, entitled “Active leisure in natural materials,” included a sporty jacket with a hood, zipper and practical pockets. It was a predecessor to today’s parka.

 

The first parka was introduced in 1980 and since then, it has become a true Gudrun classic. It reappears year after year in fresh patterns and color combinations, sometimes in both the spring and fall collections. Often designed to resist wind and rain, the practical functionality of this jacket has remained constant for four decades. Come rain or shine, in the parka, you’re ready for adventures around the world!

 

Over the years, Gudrun Sjödén has designed unique jackets for different seasons, from longer to shorter styles and in warmer and cooler materials. But the parka is one style to which we continuously return and that holds a lasting place in our hearts. With its timeless design and unbeatable functionality, it never goes out of style and works as well today as it did in 1980.

 

As a designer and as an entrepreneur, Gudrun has always had her sights set on growth and on expanding her business horizons – including beyond the borders of Sweden. Her vision and ambitions knew no bounds and 1981 was a key year for her business journey. That was the year that marked the start of an exciting and expansive era, when Gudrun decided to introduce her unique fashion to the international scene. Germany was the first country beyond the Nordics to experience the colorful and unique designs of Gudrun Sjödén.

 

From a quiet corner of her sister’s kitchen in Rosstal, a picturesque village in Bavaria, she began to ambitiously build her mail order-sales business. Decisively and with a solid sense of her German customers, she created the foundation of what would later be a flourishing market. The quality-conscious Germans welcomed Gudrun Sjödén’s clothing with open arms; they appreciated the aesthetics and practicality of her designs.

 

The success on the German market was the beginning of a global expansion and today, Gudrun Sjödén has sales in over 50 countries.

 

The US was the next country in which Gudrun Sjödén set up shop. In 1983, mail-order sales and two colorful stores started up in sunny California. But unfortunately, the stores had to close in 1990. We get to remember our time in California through cheerful pictures taken in front of San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge.

 

In 2012, we tried again in the US – this time, Gudrun found her place in the vibrant hustle and bustle of New York City. The essential selection of solid-colored jersey garments and puff pants sold incredibly well in the US. American customers embraced Gudrun’s artistic, boho style that empowers women to express themselves freely through clothing.

 

Investing took courage, but despite those early setbacks, Gudrun Sjödén is now stronger than ever in the US. Today, there are two stores in the US: one in New York City, and an outlet store in Minneapolis. With the ability to make clothing that speaks to the heart and soul, Gudrun has become established as a popular designer on the other side of the Atlantic, too.

 

Early in the brand’s history, a few pieces were made in both women’s and men’s sizes. But in 1984, Gudrun Sjödén took the next step, with the introduction of unisex garments. In keeping with the spirit of the 80s, the catalog was a true cascade of color, with women and men posing in matching clothing.

 

The classic stripes from 1979 were a focal point of the unisex sweaters, with their playful, inclusive and eye-catching style. That timeless pattern was joined by jackets, pants and knitwear in different colors and patterns.

 

Alongside the introduction of unisex clothing, Gudrun launched a men’s collection in her signature, colorful style.

 

The brand also began making clothing for children, with the occasional colorful piece popping up in the catalogs in the 80s among the styles for adults. To get a sense of the market, a few pieces for children were introduced in the brick-and-mortar stores before the first colorful collection for kids launched in 1992. Now men, women and children alike could express themselves through colorful design!

 

Large and small, printed and embroidered, sewn on as appliqués, knit in tons of different colors – no detail is as beloved by Gudrun as the rose. The first rose pattern, “Rosamunda,” was created in 1988 and adorned a small collection of underwear in unbleached cotton. It quickly became popular and was soon followed up by jacquard cardigans decorated with meandering roses in colors of all kinds.

 

The rose has become an important part of Gudrun’s identity as a designer; it is something she returns to when she sits down with her brushes. Her passion for roses blossomed in the 90s in particular, when this enchanting flower adorned clothing and catalog covers alike. In the 2000s, roses were part of a creative journey through different cultures: from embroidered jackets inspired by China to colorful georgette styles inspired by Mexico and Frida Kahlo, to “Global Folk Art” and Hungary, and warm colors in wool, inspired by Bhutan.

 

In the 2010s, this love culminated in the biggest, most magnificent roses the brand had ever seen, in an explosion of colorful floral splendor that paid tribute to the flower that Gudrun never tires of re-creating.

 

Late in the colorfully patterned 1980s – in 1989 to be precise – Gudrun Sjödén opened a third store in Sweden. With two flourishing shops, one on Regeringsgatan in downtown Stockholm and another on charming Grönegatan in the city of Lund, it was time to take the next step.

 

The brand’s first outlet store opened up on popular Götgatan, on the island of Södermalm in Stockholm. From here, customers could take home Gudrun Sjödén’s signature designs at lower prices. The Swedish outlet store is now located in Årstaberg and it is an absolute trove of pieces from older collections and unique vintage finds. Earlier this year, an outlet store also opened in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 

Gudrun’s little gem on Götgatan never lost its charm and is still located there today, with its tempera-painted walls with lovely, winding patterns. What began as an outlet store is now a regular Gudrun Sjödén store, stocked with clothing from the latest collections.

 

Block printing is an ancient handicraft with a rich history dating all the way back to eighth-century Japan and Korea. The technique was used at that time to print religious texts, but has evolved over the centuries to be used for a wide range of purposes, such as books and textiles.

 

Gudrun Sjödén introduced block printing into her designs in the 1990s and this handcrafted technique has remained a consistent part of her work ever since. The process behind the technology is as fascinating as the finished result. Skilled artisans cut and carve patterns into blocks of wood and then dip the blocks in dye paste and use them to make prints. The fabric is transformed, yard by yard, into a lovely palette of patterns, outlines and colors.

 

The charm of block printing lies in the fact that each print is unique, with subtle variations and nuances. The technique is a way for Gudrun Sjödén to combine ancient forms of craftsmanship with modern patterns and styles.

 

An environmental approach has been a core part of Gudrun Sjödén’s philosophy since she founded the brand. Starting with her first collection in 1974, Gudrun championed undyed cotton rather than the bleached variety that was usually dyed later.

 

Gudrun first saw a cotton field in the early 90s – a soft sea of white cotton stretching out into the horizon. Environmental awareness was reaching new heights at this time and she knew that choosing organic – organic cotton especially – was the right choice. She found her first organic cotton supplier in Greece.

 

Later, Gudrun traveled to India to learn more about cotton farmers and organic farms. Her initial encounter with this vast and vibrant country was a profound experience, brimming with new insights and inspiration. In 1992, India emerged as an exciting new location for the company’s manufacturing, sparking a lasting relationship with this country and its handicraft traditions, which continue to inspire her to this day.

 

Organic cotton is now incorporated into much of Gudrun Sjödén’s product selection, including accessories, home textiles, and knit and woven garments.

 

The 90s was a dynamic and energetic time, defined by a mix of styles and influences in which music, fashion and culture came together in an exciting fusion. In the midst of this vibrant moment, Gudrun Sjödén was approaching her twentieth anniversary in the world of Nordic design. While the 90s was a decade of change, Gudrun stayed true to her signature style, characterized by vibrant colors, bold patterns and a love of natural qualities and functional features.

 

1993 was particularly important: it was the year in which Gudrun Sjödén was named Businesswoman of the Year in Sweden. This prestigious award not only strengthened her position in the fashion world, but also demonstrated that Gudrun’s vision and entrepreneurship were bearing fruit. It was also an acknowledgement of her hard work and dedication, as well as a symbol of how she had successfully created a brand that was not just about clothing – but about a lifestyle that embraced color, nature and joy.

 

The innovative 90s may have been an era of change, but for Gudrun Sjödén, the decade was a time of growth and triumph. With sights set on the future, Gudrun continued to expand her world of color and design.