September is a roaring month for fashion. What many may consider a mundane 30 days, September awakens numerous eruptions within the fashion industry.
This includes the release of Vogue’s September issue, and Fashion Week hosted throughout the four fashion capitals: New York, London, Milan and Paris.
However, over the past week, there was a particular event that crescendoed the September fashion eruption twofold. That being Matilda Djerf’s runway show premiere for her clothing brand Djerf Avenue.
Djerf Avenue (pronounced J-er-f), created by Matilda Djerf and her boyfriend Ramus Johansson in 2019, has blossomed into a line that many wish to see hanging in their closets — myself included.
With what I consider an infusion of business chic and classic statement pieces, Djerf Avenue is a brand both Elle Woods and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy would blissfully approve of.
Prior to the runway debut, Djerf Angels — a nickname for Djerf Avenue’s customers — eagerly anticipated the four day pop-up shop that was held in SoHo, New York. Though I sadly couldn’t attend the pop-up, a friend of mine did, and can confirm Djerf is an angel in real life.
The pop-ups were free for all Angels to attend. For four days Spring Street in SoHo was overflowing with genuine smiles, along with superb style.
The pop-ups consisted of meeting the Djerf Avenue team and, of course, purchasing pieces. Each day was dedicated to a particular theme that pertained to a collection Djerf had designed.
Leading into the final day of the NYC pop-up, the night of Sept. 3 shifted Angels from SoHo to the Guggenheim Museum, located on 5th Avenue. The Peter B. Lewis Theater at Guggenheim became occupied by a stream of walking canvases displaying Djerf’s art brought to life.
In terms of who attended the show, let’s begin with the fact that it was not invite only. On the Djerf Avenue website, applications were posted to give Angels the opportunity to attend the event. The brand specified how 273 tickets were available, and the guests that applied were being chosen at random.
For those who were unable to attend the show in person, were fortunate enough to livestream it from the Djerf Avenue Youtube page.
Djerf Avenue included a caption with the livestream, explaining the collection. Djerf displayed a collection featuring “solely Remake items,” meaning Djerf modified prior pieces to create never before seen styles, specifically for the runway show.
The show opened with a video of Djerf speaking, in letter form, to her younger self. The bittersweet video is Djerf declaring that the years of feeling out of place are finally over for her — she has found who she is meant to be- and is sharing her discovery through the ethical clothing she creates for all of us.
Watching the event, I was gratified to see how Djerf is making a positive impact in the fashion industry, through the diversity and inclusivity of her models. It’s evident Djerf understands that clothes are meant to be worn by everyone, for everyone and shown through everyone.
The finale concluded a final walkthrough of the models, followed by Djerf herself, striding alongside her mother, as they embraced one another in a hug. Even her own mother, Ulrika Djerf, was a model in the show, displaying two looks.
With the last words spoken in the video being “we will always have September 3,” Djerf did not miss the mark. Djerf Avenue’s first runway show has been all the buzz, and will be an unforgettable night in fashion history.
New York Fashion Week may have claimed to begin on Sept. 7, but in the heart of us Djerf Angels, we know this fashion season began with a roar the night of Sept. 3.