Hjördis Vilhelmina Hjalmarsdotter Hjorth

Place: Västra Husby

Born: 1924

Death: 1967

Biography:

Hjördis Hjalmarsdotter-Hjort was a fashion designer, artisan, and designer. She was born in 1924 in Västra Husby, Östergötland, Sweden, to Hjalmar Hjorth, a forest manager, and his wife Helmi. She was the only child of the couple. Hjördis Hjalmarsdotter-Hjort suffered from tuberculosis when she was at school and spent long periods of time in hospital. She and her mother moved to Stockholm after her father’s death in 1944. There she studied at an advertising school, amongst other things. In 1948 she and her mother opened their own shop, Firma Hjalmarsdotter, on Sibyllegatan in Stockholm. The shop was an entirely new concept at the time as it sold not only Hjördis Hjalmarsdotter-Hjort’s own designer-made clothes but also items made by other artisan handicrafters. This included, for example, items made by the likes of the wood carver Jonny Mattsson, the glass-workers and ceramists Tom and Grete Möller, and the silver-smith Torun Bülow-Hübe. Hjördis Hjalmarsdotter-Hjort created her very own style which was inspired by Nordic handicrafts in its patterns as well as its high quality. Her designs were however very audacious and modern. She sought to create something new, albeit based on old handicraft traditions. She wanted her clothes to be timeless and to emphasise the individual who was wearing them. She was involved in the production from beginning to end. She drew sketches and wove the initial mockups for weavers, seamstresses and handicrafters to then work from. Hjördis Hjalmarsdotter-Hjort died in 1967.