Someone recently pointed out that we had never done a Designer Diary on Crown Princess Mary. That had to be rectified immediately. We will have two in a row, this week and next. This week we are going back to early Mary, and her relationship with Heartmade.
Heartmade was established in 1998 as a couture business by Julie Fagerholt, a Danish designer. Ms. Fagerholt was born in a small town north of Copenhagen, and graduated from the Danish Design School in 1993. Her father was an architect and a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, so design was in the genes.
Fagerholt has said she designs clothes she would like wear using unique prints and fabrics. Her clothes are designed to move with the wearer, and channel the designer’s sense of adventure. She launched her first ready-to-wear collection in 2000, just in time for Crown Princess Mary’s arrival on the scene.
There’s always been a bit of bohemian lurking around the edges of Mary’s style, but it was more apparent in her early outings. She wore this patterned gown in 2009, and repeated it in September 2016.
She tends to reach for Heartmade when she is visiting children’s charities or going to an “arty” event. She wore this floral print Heartmade “Harin” dress, made of woven silk with flared sleeves, to visit a pediatric hospital.
For a visit to Danish Mother’s Aid’s family council house, Mary layered this Heartmade cape, for a cozy, warm effect. You can see the designer’s embellishments at the pockets. You can also check out this “Style of Mary” post for a breakdown of the components of this ensemble.
Many of Mary’s printed separates are from the designer, and some of her boho summer wear as well.
The most well-known of her Heartmade pieces is this gown with a jacket, worn for the New Year’s levees in 2008 (and re-worn several times thereafter, in 2010, 2012, and 2013). It went “under the scissors” in one of the Crown Princess’s famous redos, in 2017. It emerged with a soft blouse-type bodice and a new lease on life. It was seen most recently this year!