Tordyvel – the stylish organic woollen mid-layer, designed in Sweden

Malin Lundmark was looking for an alternative garment to the fleece she wore underneath her winter coat. An outdoor enthusiast, she had spent many years in the Swedish mountains and cycled to work whatever the weather. Having worked as a designer for over 15 years, she realised that the best way to find what she was looking for was to create it herself, and that is how the idea for Tordyvel’s organically produced woollen mid-layer garments was born.

Fleece from polyester has dominated the market for a long time and is what most people choose as a mid-layer underneath their coats in colder weather. But with increasing public awareness of polyester’s negative impact on the environment, Lundmark realised that more people were looking for an alternative – and this is where wool beats many of its competitors. “Wool is the perfect material for varied weather conditions. Here in Sweden, for example, the weather can vary hugely from north to south, and I wanted to create something that people could wear both in the damp conditions of southern Sweden and in the bitter sub-zero temperatures in the north. Wool is warm and stretchy, and it breathes. It is very easy to look after. Many people don’t know that wool only needs to be hung out to air outside for a few hours; it cleanses itself that way,” she explains.

Lundmark had a vision for a favourite cardigan: warm, functional, stylish, and easy to wear underneath a coat or jacket, on the way to work in the city or while hiking in the mountains. She launched the first Tordyvel collection in 2017, all made from organic and ethically produced wool. The collection is small and non-seasonal, and Lundmark describes Tordyvel as “slow fashion”. “My customers should be able to wear a cardigan or a jumper for many years without having to replace it. I want to inform people not just about the benefits of wool, but also about how to look after the material. Wool used to be the norm, but since we moved away from it, we’ve lost the knowledge of how to care for it. My wish is to inspire people, not just my customers, to make wool part of their everyday life. It is a mission I am very passionate about.”

All Tordyvel’s products are made of Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified wool. “GOTS enables me to guarantee my customers that the sheep in our wool production are well cared for, and that all staff who work in the production line are treated and paid fairly,” says Lundmark. “That is very important to me and has been absolutely vital for my business model since the day we started.”

tordyvel.com