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Charlott Axenström - Dreams Do Come True |
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When you are a little girl growing up in a tiny village in the very far
north of Sweden where during the middle of the winter you may only have
at most two hours of daylight and you are in some of the best ski
country in Sweden, one supposes like most children you turn to sports or
music. Charlotte Axenström became an avid skier, something she still
enjoys today, but her imagination and creativity, also took her in
another direction.
“It was kind of boring,” Charlott Axenström says chuckling, “I think
that was the key (to where this all began), you are so bored and it is
so dark. I am a skier and a swimmer and I was into clothes. I started
sketching clothes when I was five years of age. I think when you have so
much time to think about it you (become good at what you are doing).
That is what I tell my daughter you have to be bored (first) to be good.
If you have everything just in front of you there is no reason for your
brain to work.”
When
this writer comments about how for such a small country in terms of
population Sweden is and yet how it seems like from every little village
and town across the country extraordinary athletes, musicians, singers
and artists have emerged over the years, Charlotte Axenström elaborates
further. “In
school they had all of the instruments for you to play and so it did not
matter how much or how little money you had, you could do whatever you
wanted. Today in Sweden it has changed a lot, because the schools do not
have the money. They do not have music and sports as much as when I was
young. When
I was in school I could do my sketches a lot and I could paint and it
was a more creative time when I was growing up. I think it was like that
in the seventies, eighties and nineties,” she says.
Charlott Axenstrom’s, family would later move from their village of 500
people to Örnköldsvik with a population of approximately 33,000 (today’s
population). She would spend what we would refer to in North America as
her high school years in Örnköldsvik.
“I started to make my own clothes when I was ten or eleven and in my
teenage years I made all of my clothes. I was extremely into fashion
then. (Many years) later at a school reunion (former classmates) told me
they knew what kind of a job I would have, because of the way that I
dressed, but then two or three later we dressed the same way,” says
Charlott Axenström, acknowledging that she was always ahead of the curve
or if you like a trendsetter in fashion.
Today Charlott Axenström is very well-respected in the film, television,
fashion and beauty industries. Her couture designs are often worn by
celebrities at high profile events, her costume designs are splendid
(more about that in just a bit) and she has been an image consultant and
stylist for television personalities, business executives and those who
just want to change their image. We should also point out that her
clients are both women and men.
After graduating from the Swedish equivalent of high school, Charlott
Axenström moved to Copenhagen, Denmark to study at Tillskärarakademin
(name of the school). It was here that she refined her skills in design
and construction in the fashion sense (learning
about theory, practical skills and techniques).
“During that time in the early eighties fashion was not a thing in
Sweden. From the left side it was more you shouldn’t think about how you
dress and you shouldn’t think about makeup and those things. It was
almost forbidden at that time. So, at my school I said I want to become
a designer and people would say we understand why you want to become a
designer, because you make your own clothes. It wasn’t an option to
become a designer (back then), because it wasn’t a real job. (We
joke about that is when the word “lagom” became popular. You can Google
it). It was thought
that everybody should be something in the middle of the mainstream, but
I have never been that. In the United States you could go more your own
way than you could in a small city in Sweden.
I couldn’t find a school in Stockholm where I wanted to go and I had
been traveling for a couple of years, so I decided I wanted something
more metropolitan. I wanted to go to a school that would (enable me) to
work outside of Scandinavia,” she says, explaining her decision to
attend Tillskärarakademin.
With such a multi-faceted career we wondered what came first to Charlott
Axenström, being a fashion designer, costume designer or image
consultant / stylist.
“Actually, I don’t know. I think stylist, but everything was connected
together. I started my education with the dream to become a fashion
designer in Italy, so when I went to school my focus was to become a
fashion designer. Then I worked in Sweden for one year in a fashion
industry company. After that I
got a job as a stylist and I was also an assistant costume designer for
the musical La Cage aux Folles
and that is when I felt this was my life and this was where I belonged,
in the theater. At the same time I got a job as an assistant for
television shows. A couple of months later I became a costume designer
for a television movie. When I was a costume designer I also did some
(work) as a stylist on the side.
The list of
notable people and television programs that Charlott Axenström has work
with is too long to mention all of them here, but we will give you a
small sample; she has created designs for Swedish television personality
and host Kattis Ahlström on several occasions including when she
hosted SVT’s television program Arvinge Ökänd (2018 – 19) with Niklas
Källner, whom Charlott Axenström also dressed. From 2016 – 2018 she was
the designer of choice for SVT programs such as Världens Barngalan,
Kristallengalan and 60 år. Television celebrity Karin Hübinette has also
been a client of Charlott Axenström. Others with whom she has worked
include news anchor Stina Lundberg-Dabrowski, Swedish actress, comedian
and theater director Sissela Kyle and Hans Rosenfeldt the creator of the
internationally acclaimed television series
The Bridge and the ITV /
Netflix series MARCELLA.
Some of her film credits for costume design include
Birdcage Son (2018 – 19) with
director Richard Hobert filmed on the Faroe Islands in the north
Atlantic, between Iceland and Norway. She also worked on
I Miss You (director – Anders
Grönros), I’m Your Warrior
(director – Stefan Jarl), Agnes
Cecilia (director - Anders Grönros),
Sounds of Silence (director –
Peter Borg) and the epic film
1939 when she worked as a
costume designer assistant with director Göran Carmback.
“I worked as a costume designer for a couple of years, before I got a
job with the news anchors for Swedish television in the early nineties.
That was for Channel One which was the biggest news channel. I would
tell the news anchors what colors were best for them, what clothes to
wear and what makeup to wear. At that time (television news anchors were
really boring to look at), so I tried to make it so it wasn’t boring. It
was like Eastern Europe, because at that time Eastern Europe was
Russian. In Sweden (the way
people dressed) was like that, but then we changed it. That was my job
to change it. At that time I was really excited. They would ask what you
think if I wear these clothes or those clothes. What is best for
presenting the news?” she says.
Charlott Axenström has worked with both women and men news anchors and
we wanted to know if certain colors or patterns were better for news
anchors and if others were on the do not list.
“Trust is very important. Color is very important. Colors I don’t work
with on TV are grey and black. I never work with black jackets or
blouses or black near the face, because you look older and smaller. You
look better if you choose colors other than black, white or grey. I was
working with both men and women news anchors.
I know in the United States when you look at
Good Morning America the
women have a thin little blouse and you can almost see her bra and the
men are wearing a suit, white shirt and a tie. I want to work more
equal.
I don’t work with that many patterns.
For the news anchors I think it is better if they don’t have a
lot of patterns,” she says.
Have you ever wondered how all those great costumes you see in the
movies are created? We did too!
“If you see the latest movie (Birdcage Son) that I did and that was set
in the 1800s on the Faroe Islands I work with the material that was
(available) in that time. If I am working on a movie that takes place in
the 1940s I work with material that they had in that time. That is for
clothes that you see, but not what you don’t see. If you don’t see the
underwear then of course you have underwear from today. Everything you
are going to see is made from material that you had during that time.
In the 1800s you had wool, you had linen, cotton, leather and you had
silk. Sometimes I have to do something that is not correct, but it was
when I had no other options. Ninety-nine percent of the time I want to
use the right materials. If you are on stage though you can work with
materials other than what you had in that time,” she says.
Charlott Axenström has designed twelve dresses for Nobel Prize honorees
and she takes us behind the scenes to tell us what happens when she is
working on a couture design. “We
start with a meeting and I make fast sketches when we talk about the
dress and what the client’s ideas are and also my suggestions.
We talk about color and I bring some fabric ideas. We
then make an appointment with my tailor Larissa to measure the person.
We only make couture dresses. Everything is made for the client’s body,
so it will fit perfectly. The
next step is to find the fabric and material that I need for the dress.
I collect some samples from a couple of fabric agents. I
make a couple of watercolor sketches and show them to my client and at
the same time I show them the fabric. So far all of my clients have
liked my ideas and I will often order the fabric from France, Italy or
Great Britain. I need many meters of fabric for my designs. Then
my tailor makes a toale the client will try it on for the first time, so
we can see how the design works. The
tailor then cuts and starts to sew the fabric. There are about seven or
eight times that the client will try on the dress until it is finally
completed. I’m very picky and it has to be just like I want it to be and
of course my client has to also be satisfied. My tailor is fantastic and
always makes my designs just like I want them to be. It is almost
impossible to make a design without a brilliant tailor. Larissa is the
best tailor I have ever worked with and this year we celebrate ten years
of working together,” she says. If
you are looking for a new couture dress designed by Charlott Axenström
for you next special occasion how far in advance should you plan on
contacting her? She
says, “It depends, but I think it is best that we have at least one
month, because I have to find the material. If you are in the United
States or in Los Angeles or New York you can just go and buy everything
in the store and that is fantastic. Here in Stockholm we do not have
that many choices. If they contact me two months ahead of time that is
perfect.”
Our
conversation then segues into talking about her role as a stylist and
image consultant, “All kinds of people come to me. I also work with
politicians, small companies that want to change their image, big banks
and other big companies. Sometimes it is not the client, who calls me,
but it is their secretary or someone on the team that feels that person
does not reflect their job. Often times the (first) meetings are with
someone else and not that person. The second time I will go to the
meeting with another person and the client. It is very important that
they like me and that the chemistry between us is right.” She
makes the point that often when she is working with executives of big
companies the image of the new executive needs to be addressed, before
he or she becomes a more public figure. “If
you wait until the big boss has been in the position for one-half year
and then you change the image people will say oh what happened to him or
her? She looks so different and that takes the focus away from the job.
The best thing is to change the style, the hair and the glasses and
everything, before they start the new job. You can always change your
style at any time, but if you have a very public position people will
see you on TV and in the news,” she says, but then adds that it is not
always big time executives that come to her looking for a new image,
“Some people may be (newly) divorced and they want to change their
style, because they want to meet a new partner. They come to life, the
kids are growing up and moving out and they want to change. They start
with changing on the inside and then they think okay I have to do
something with my outside too. My figure is not the one I used to have
and my hair is different. It is getting older and you have to make the
best of it.”
Sweden has come a long way from being that fashion conservative country
back when Charlott Axenström started her career and she has been one of
the catalysts of change for the better.
“Sweden is pretty good at music and food, but with designs now we are on
the front line. We have had a lot of success. I think if you compare us
to other European countries we are often the first with (a new style).
We have a good sense for what will be the next (trend or style). We are
at the leading edge. A lot of Scandinavian labels have been successful
around the world. We are a small country, but we do well,” she says.
Reflecting upon a vast and very interesting career with a lot of
diversity we asked Charlott Axenström to share with us a couple of her
special moments. “I
have a couple. The movie 1939
was the biggest movie ever made in Sweden and I was an assistant. I
dressed all of the extras. That was a big project, big money and a lot
of people. That was great (Editor’s
note: this was very early in her career).
Working on the movie Birdcage Son
on the Faroe Islands and to be there working with a time period, in a
different country was fantastic for me. (I think she said the movie is
called The Bird Cage) That was a treat for me to work with such a great
group of people. We worked hard and it was a small budget, but it was
very enjoyable. The people who live on the Faroe Islands are such nice
people. It is not only about my job, it is the people and the team. On
the Faroe Islands everybody was positive.
I
think that every job when I can do something new and I can learn
something is the best job. Of course when you work with people that you
connect well with that is fantastic. I have had so many good experiences
in my life with my work.
Please take time to
visit the website for Charlott Axenström where you
can learn more about this fascinating lady and her couture designs,
costume designs, image consulting and other services that she offers. If
you are not Swedish your internet browser should give you the option to
view the website in English.
If you have a
daughter or niece or granddaughter share this story with them of a woman
who grew up in a small isolated village where it was dark twenty-two
hours each day in the winter months, but she followed her imagination
and pursued her dreams and her dreams came drew. It does not matter what
a young girl or young woman is aspiring to, the story of Charlott
Axenström should be an inspiration for all of us.
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“I
grew up in the same village in northern Sweden as Ingemar Stenmark the
skier (Editor’s note: Ingemar
Stenmark won more international ski races than any other skier in
history, including eighty-six World Cup wins). I think with it being
dark for twenty-two hours every day (in the winter) that was part of the
creative process. Yes it is dark and you are out skiing, but you also
stay home a lot. In the summer I was outside all of the time. From April
until September you don’t sleep that much (Editor’s
note: there is almost continual daylight),” she says. 
Charlott
Axenström also assists her clients with picking out jewelry to go with
the new dress and she collaborates with a makeup and a hair stylist to
create the ultimate look. 
