Self-described “Fashion Addict” Fredrik Robertsson invites Vogue Scandinavia over to watch him get ready in Valentino Couture for last night’s NK Galan, at which he took home the Fashion Icon award
It’s rare to see one up close, just laying there, its plumage sprawled out like that. This one is a lovely lavender, plush and delicate. Despite its intimidating beauty, we approach… with caution.
“You can touch it,” calls Fredrik Robertsson from the other room.
It is, of course, the Valentino Haute Couture ostrich feathered hat, constructed by master milliner Philip Traecy. The first iteration glided down Valentino’s spring 18 couture collection. This one was plucked from fall 2021 and has been seen on the very famous head of Lady Gaga. And here one was, sitting casually atop a baby grand piano.
We are standing in the sprawling Kungsholmen penthouse shared by Robertsson and his fiancé, Johan Hellström, the owner of Björn Axén and hairdresser of the Swedish royals. Robertsson, a creative director, host and man about town has invited us to hang out and sip champagne as he gets ready for NK Galan.
Hosted annually by Sweden’s very old, very posh department store Nordiska Kompaniet, the NK Galan honours various achievements in the Swedish fashion industry. This evening, Robertsson will receive the Fashion Icon award, and boy oh boy will he look the part.
He invites us to unzip a garment bag that has been hanging ominously on a door near the front entrance. Out spills an emerald green, floor-length sequinned cape from Valentino’s fall 19 couture collection. The hours – nay, days – of painstaking craftsmanship are immediately evident in the precise placement of the sequins, which start off teeny tiny near the sharply constructed shoulders and get gradually bigger towards the train. It is sublime.
