Matilda Saga Albertina Djerf (born 8 April 1997) is a popular Swedish social media influencer, fashion designer, and co-founder of eponymous fashion and beauty brand Djerf Avenue.[3][4]
Early life
Djerf was born and raised in Borås.[2] She has stated that she experienced anorexia and orthorexia as a teenager.[5] She is the youngest child of three, with two older siblings. Her and her family lived for two years in Monterrey, California, where Djerf also attended school. Djerf stated that she experienced bullying whilst at school in California. The family returned to Sweden when Djerf was in her early teenage years.
While attending high school, Djerf gained a general interest in writing and photography, which later led to her creating a personal blog. Djerf was also the editor for her school’s annual newspaper. She worked numerous jobs as a teenager, such as being employed as a salesperson at her uncle’s fish store. Djerf has described in various interviews that she always disliked having a boss and working under others, and that she instead saw herself being more appropriately suited to leadership positions whereby she could enact changes and improvements in the workplace.
Following her high school graduation, Djerf embarked on a creative journey alongside her long-term boyfriend, Rasmus Johansson. Together, the two documented their travels and began posting photographs that featured Djerf, launching her career as a social media influencer.
Career and controversy
Djerf's career as a social media influencer began in 2016 during a trip to the Caribbean with her boyfriend, Rasmus Johansson, who now serves as the CEO of Djerf Avenue.[4] She began by sharing updates with family and friends through a blog, but her popularity grew when she started posting bikini looks on Instagram. Subsequent journeys to Bali and Australia further grew Djerf's following. Upon her return to Sweden, she decided to pursue Instagram as a profession. Initially financing her travels through modeling assignments and brand collaborations, she gradually transitioned into a full-time influencer by 2018. Despite initial hurdles, particularly in negotiating fair compensation, she persisted, advocating for the recognition of influencer work and setting boundaries in partnerships.
In 2019, Djerf co-founded Djerf Avenue with Johansson.[5] The brand's debut collection, inspired by Djerf's personal style and wardrobe needs, sold out rapidly, prompting innovative solutions for storage and distribution. Operating initially from her parents' apartment, the brand later expanded into office and warehouse space in Stockholm. Djerf Avenue garments are made in Italy, Portugal, and Sweden, with a focus on quality and detail.[4] Djerf's advocacy for size diversity and mental health awareness remains integral to her brand ethos, leading her to eschew traditional fashion weeks in favor of pop-up shops. Djerf struggles with anorexia and mental health, which prompted her to speak out about the importance of mental health and self care. [6][7][8]
Despite its success, Djerf Avenue faced criticism in 2023 for alleged design similarities with other brands. Djerf's measures to address these concerns led to significant backlash from the public and the temporary deactivation of her TikTok account, but the situation was later resolved, allowing the brand to continue.[9] Djerf Avenue is noted for its signature blueberry, strawberry, and cherry prints, featured across a range of products from robes to pajamas and sheets. As of 2022, the brand is valued at $34.5 million, with projected sales revenue of $22 million in 2023.[10] In 2022, sales revenue was predicted to be about 22 million dollars.[5]
In mid-late 2024, 11 former and current employees of Djerf Avenue spoke out and alleged that the company had an abusive workplace environment of “psychological terror”, including repeated and widespread incidents of bullying, favoritism, intimidation, belittling, yelling, and fat-phobia. Swedish news outlet Aftonbladet later released an investigative documentary on the various allegations, featuring the 11 former and current employees who openly and anonymously discussed their experiences of bullying and subsequent psychological distress.
For example, one whistleblower revealed that certain staff members who commuted to the office using public transport were belittled by Djerf, who used private transportation. Another whistleblower revealed that Djerf demanded for her personal bathroom be scrubbed clean by an employee after another colleague had accidentally used it. Other incidents, for example, involved Djerf making fat-phobic and discriminatory comments towards plus-size models after seeing their photographs, exploiting models from ethnic minority groups to promote the brand’s value of ‘inclusivity’, and losing her temper at employees if her food was not heated correctly or if there was no available coffee.
The 11 former and current employees described often feeling severely anxious and afraid whilst at work alongside Djerf, with some individuals requiring external psychological support due to panic attacks, sleep disturbances and insomnia, loss of appetite, depression, and regularly crying whilst going home from work. After the release of Aftonbladet’s documentary, Djerf’s social media platforms were subjected to criticism and backlash from members of the public who expressed fury towards the employees being treated with disrespect. Djerf later reacted to the situation via a pinned comment on one of her existing Instagram posts. She subsequently responded in further detail via an Instagram story and separate post, expressing an apology for her wrongdoings and a commitment to improving the culture of Djerf Avenue. Since the exposure of these allegations and public backlash, Djerf and her multiple social media platforms have seen a notable reduction in followers. [11]
