Fans of a Swedish clothing brand have slammed its founder Matilda Djerf amid claims she viciously bullied her employees and would ‘regularly’ make them ‘cry’.
The Scandinavian influencer first began her business Djerf Avenue with her boyfriend Rasmus Johansson in 2019, and quickly made their mark on the fashion industry.
Djerf Avenue’s focus on inclusivity, sustainability and kindness saw Matilda land on the Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2023, as well as earning a revenue of around $34.5 million (£27,329,978.85) in 2022 alone.
But now Ms Djerf, who boasts 3.1 million Instagram followers, has been hit with allegations she often ‘belittled’ staff following an investigation carried out by Swedish news outlet Aftonbladet.
Despite saying she was ‘deeply sorry’ to anyone who felt mistreated under her direction, many fans have already turned their back on the influencer as well as her fashion brand.
Some have declared they will ‘never purchase anything’ from Djerf Avenue again, whilst others are returning their items after staff claimed they had sleep problems and needed to see a psychologist during their time at the company.
Guilia Carrozzo, who lives in Germany, got her order a day after the controversial allegations emerged in relation to the fashion company – but she is adamant that she will be sending her items back.
The 20-year-old told the BBC she ‘knew immediately’ she could no longer support the brand amid claims of a toxic work environment.
Fans of a Swedish clothing brand have slammed its founder Matilda Djerf (Pictured) amid claims she viciously bullied her employees ‘regularly’ and would make them ‘cry’
The Scandinavian influencer first began her business Djerf Avenue with her boyfriend Rasmus Johansson in 2019, and quickly made their mark on the fashion industry
According to its website, Djerf Avenue says its world is ‘filled with kindness, inspiration, respect and the perfect wardrobe staples.’
Ms Carrozzo purchased items from Djerf Avenue because she believed it held body-positivity, empowerment, inclusivity among its core values.
Her decision to support the Scandinavian company was also bolstered by the fact it was woman-led.
But now she – as a consumer – feels the claims made by employees regarding Djerf’s work culture ‘directly contradicts those values’.
She told the BBC: ‘I can’t justify supporting a brand that doesn’t practice the values it promotes.
‘Until there’s real accountability and change, I won’t be purchasing from them.’
Sumi Mrkulic from London has pledged to ‘never’ support the Swedish brand again.
She found reports models were called fat while other comments were allegedly made about some not filling jeans particularly worrisome.
According to its website, Djerf Avenue says its world is ‘filled with kindness, inspiration, respect and the perfect wardrobe staples.’
Despite its seemingly strong outward values of inclusivity, there have been accusations that Ms Djerf commented on models bodies
In an investigation with Aftonbladet, several Djerf employees claimed they had sleep problems and needed to see a psychologist during their time at the company
Regarding recent claims, Sumi said: ‘It renders all of their efforts to be inclusive completely performative. I actually find it really spineless.’
It comes as Djerf Avenue employees alleged the company had a toxic work culture, which contradicted its public image of inclusivity and respect.
‘The company’s outward image is nothing like the reality of working here – it’s the exact opposite,’ one employee told Aftonbladet.
‘There are times when she has lined up employees and yelled at them and said how bad they are at their job,’ said another person.
‘People feel terribly bad. I’ve never seen so many people so broken,’ said a former employee.
‘It finally became everyday life: How many people will cry today? How many cried yesterday? Will I cry today?’
Staff also claimed there was favoritism within the office, right down to who was allowed to use the bathroom.
Djerf had her own private bathroom, according to staff, with a handwritten sign stuck on the door which said, ‘Please do not use!!’ and a love heart underneath.
They also claimed Djerf was condescending, unpredictable and they felt ‘constant stress’
‘The company’s outward image is nothing like the reality of working here – it’s the exact opposite,’ one employee told Aftonbladet who conducted the investigation
That bathroom was only allegedly used by Djerf and her ‘favorites’.
A staff member claimed the sign fell one day, leading someone to mistakenly use it. The toilet then had to be scrubbed clean before Ms Djerf would use it again.
‘She doesn’t even want to go to the same toilet as us employees. We are not fellow human being or colleagues to her,’ the employee said.
Ms Djerf claims models are not edited and range in size following her own experiences as a model as well as to benefit her customers.
‘I was also doing modeling gigs when I started and was shocked at the way this world worked. One brand edited me three sizes smaller,’ she told Forbes.
‘I seriously questioned it, knowing what these companies were showing online wasn’t what the customer was getting when they ordered the garments.’
But employees have claimed that her values were entirely different behind the scenes and in the office.
One staff member alleged Ms Djerf said they had to reshoot a photoshoot because a model looked ‘so f***ing fat in’ the clothes they were modelling.
‘So, with those words, that’s what we had to do,’ the employee said.
Ms Djerf has since told the BBC in a statement that she was ‘deeply sorry’ to anyone who felt mistreated under her direction
Several customers have since slammed the brand saying they would ‘never’ support the fashion line again, with some saying they were returning their items (Pictured: Djerf Avenue model)
A staff member claimed the sign fell Ms Djerf’s bathroom one day , leading someone to mistakenly use it. The toilet then had to be scrubbed clean before she would use it again
‘Even though we all felt: “She makes it so clear that she doesn’t stand for what she portrays outwardly.”
Another employee claimed that Djerf herself often ‘commented on people’s bodies and appearance.’
‘To one person, she said that her butt didn’t fill out the jeans. And to another, she said that her butt filled up the jeans too much.’
The seemingly ingenuine inclusivity within the brand was also said to be performed to a higher extent on social media to keep up appearances.
‘It felt like some staff members were exploited because they had an appearance that didn’t fit the norm,’ said one.
Another added: ‘There were some employees who were “plus size” or who had a different ethnicity that were used a lot in the company’s social media because it looked good. But it wasn’t genuine.’
‘Every day, there’s a psychological terror in that office,’ said one person.
They said they would be asked, ‘Are you stupid?’ and told they were bad at their jobs, called names and yelled at.
One person said they had never experienced a panic attack before the job at Djerf Avenue.
‘After the first time she yelled at me. Afterwards I was just sat there shaking… I’ve probably never been so scared of a person in my life,’ they added.
‘I was scared of Matilda. I didn’t like it when she was in the room,’ another revealed.
Djerf Avenue wrote to Aftonbladet that they ‘take the information that has emerged very seriously’ and that they are ‘aware that there are shortcomings’ in their work environment
The interviewees claimed Djerf was condescending, unpredictable and they felt ‘constant stress.’
In a statement shared with the BBC, Matilda Djerf said: ‘If any team member has felt mistreated in their role because of my actions, I am deeply sorry, and I want to sincerely apologize.
‘I don’t recognize myself in all the claims that have been made, and I’ve chosen not to comment on individual cases.
‘However, I do believe it’s valuable that these concerns are being raised, as it gives both me and Djerf Avenue the opportunity to grow and improve.
‘I want to emphasize that I take full responsibility and see this as a chance to reflect, grow, and contribute to a better culture for everyone at Djerf Avenue.’
Djerf Avenue’s chief operating officer, Pernilla Bonny said the company was taking steps to better the workplace culture.
These steps included carrying out monthly anonymous employee surveys, putting in place a whistleblower function as well as bettering the management team.
MailOnline has approached Djerf Avenue for comment.
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