Why We’re Obsessed With Matilda Djerf And How You Can Copy Her Iconic ‘90s Hairstyle

If you’re a woman with an Instagram, chances are you’ve come across Swedish fashion designer Matilda Djerf’s account. With more than 2 million followers, Matilda has clearly struck a chord with her aesthetic: sunny photos of her simple outfits, cute pup Rufus, and travels with her boyfriend Rasmus.

In a world of so-called “Insta baddies,” Matilda is the opposite. Instead of fake lashes, bikini pics, and BBLs, her posts focus on her love of buying flowers, baking cakes, and documenting her daily oversized outfits. Instead of a sexy pout, she’s normally got a big grin on her face. And her followers – and other influencers – are eating it up. In fact, her comments section is a who’s who of today’s top style accounts, including Valeria Lipovetsky, Tezza Barton, and Xenia Adonts, who are always quick to hype up Matilda’s latest post.

Matilda is a former model and the founder of her eponymous fashion line Djerf Avenue, which focuses on sustainable, ready-to-wear pieces. The 25-year-old founded her fashion line in 2019 and has pledged to never retouch models’ photos.

But what is Matilda’s story, and why is everyone so obsessed with her? Keep reading to find out.

Her Fashion Sense

Most of Matilda’s followers love her fashion first and foremost. Her outfits are unique – they largely rely on basics, but it’s how she puts together her outfits that creates that X factor. Scroll through her feed and you’ll see a hot pink butterfly-print dress under a tan blazer, lots of men’s button-downs, and high-waisted jeans. Plus sage green – lots of sage green. That seems to be her favorite color this spring.

Matilda’s style is California cool meets Scandinavian minimalist, which makes sense considering that her happy place is her summer cabin off the coast of Sweden, according to an interview with Lack of Color. 

Matilda has two main aesthetics that I’ve noticed: menswear hottie and Y2K cutie. You’re more likely to see her rocking menswear in the colder months, when she lives in boxy charcoal blazers and baggy pants. When it’s warmer, her Y2K side comes out – lots of butterfly hair clips and tube tops.

Matilda has parlayed her followers’ love of her outfits into her fashion brand Djerf Avenue, where you can find all the trousers, tube dresses, and striped button-downs you need to steal her look. A lot of influencers’ so-called fashion lines seem to be cash grabs – but Matilda’s is the real thing. Instead of quickly producing trendy pieces, Djerf Avenue focuses on basics and slow fashion. 

“Good basics are essential in my wardrobe,” Matilda told Vogue Scandinavia in a recent interview. “If you don’t know what to wear, a tank top, a T-shirt, or a pair of perfectly tailored trousers are always reliable.”

Her Social Media Presence

Unlike many other influencers, Matilda doesn’t seem to care about racking up as many brand deals as possible. She rarely has a sponsored post – but most of her outfit photos include a tag for her own brand, Djerf Avenue. 

Despite posting photos nearly every day, Matilda stays pretty private. She uses light-hearted captions and lots of emojis in her posts but stays away from updating followers on the minute details of her life. Of course, all of the photos she posts do give us a hint of where she is and what she’s doing, but everything is filtered through a positive, glowy light.

One exception to this came in 2020, when Matilda had emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. She opened up to her followers about the painful ordeal and her worries about infertility in the future. 

“My biggest dream is to create a family with Rasmus and I would like to think that this dream will come true,” Matilda wrote to her followers. “I guess I just want to tell you about this because before I went through it I didn’t know what an ectopic pregnancy was. And I don’t want anyone else to feel as alone as I did. I also want to urge you to stand up for yourself when you’re in pain. You know when your pain isn’t normal. Don’t let people tell you it is.”

In the months after, Matilda posted about her healing journey, even sharing swimsuit photos that showed a small bandage over her scar from surgery. 

Get Matilda’s ‘90s Blowout

Of course, you can’t talk about Matilda Djerf without talking about her iconic hair. Her look is ‘90s supermodel meets ‘70s Farrah Fawcett – and, somehow, it’s totally 2022. I wouldn’t be surprised if a high percentage of women bring photos of Matilda’s hair to their stylists when they finally work up the courage to get curtain bangs.

Luckily, Matilda is not stingy with her hair advice. She has posted numerous videos on her YouTube channel showing how she cuts and styles her hair. Matilda has served as an ambassador for vegan haircare brand Maria Nila and only uses their products – at least in her sponsored videos, that is.

In a 2021 video, Matilda revealed that she washes her hair twice a week and uses Maria Nila’s True Soft shampoo to make her hair feel soft and moisturized, especially in the dryness of fall and winter. Her go-to products are argan oil, heat protectant spray, and her Dyson Airwrap Styler (if you don’t feel like coughing up hundreds of dollars for the Airwrap, find a list of dupes here).

Matilda doesn’t wake up in the morning with her hair looking perfect – her hair isn’t naturally straight so she blow dries it for sleekness. She also gets subtle bronde highlights. Matilda says she has been rocking the same hairstyle since 2017, so it’s safe to say she has gotten styling it down to a science.

My biggest takeaway from watching Matilda’s hair videos is that having a really talented and detail-oriented hairstylist is key. Matilda has moved four hours away from her hometown hairstylist, but she still goes back to her for trims because this stylist is the only one she trusts with her hair. If you feel like your stylist doesn’t want to tailor a particular haircut to your face shape or hair type, or just doesn’t take the time to get things right, time to find a new go-to!

Closing Thoughts: We Need More Matildas

In a world where it seems like Facetune and raw sex appeal get the most likes, Matilda’s social media presence is absolutely refreshing. She celebrates the little things in life, like a kiss from her dog, a hot cup of coffee, or a cozy, messy bed. And she’s focused on helping real women make the most of what they have in their closets.

“It’s really important for me that no matter what we release, you can style it with previous items. To this day, the first pieces that we launched, we still have in our collections today,” Matilda told Women’s Wear Daily in an April interview. “I never want to release something that you can’t style with the previous items. So it needs to be versatile. It needs to be comfortable. I think those are the things I think about.”