We are not really spoilt with Swedish super models and though we have Caroline Winberg and Elsa Hosk the one that got the furthest is Emma Sjöberg – now Wiklund. Though she still does some modeling that career has been swapped for one as Fashion Consumer Advisor at retailer Lindex.

Not only is Emma a phenomenally capable person but she is also a ray of sunlight, something perhaps not that common in an industry where a lot of people are too pretentious and serious. Whenever one meets her she has a big smile on her lips and always with a kind word. Combining this with being tough is a good recipe for success within the tough model and fashion world.

Everything started in 1997 at “Hotel Snäck” on Gotland where then 18 year old Emma took home the title as “Ms Hawaian Tropic”. Luckily enough Mika Kjellberg from “Mikas” was in the audience and that was the start of a very exciting career.

Emma was still in high school but as soon as that was over she packed her bags and moved from the small town of Huskvarna to Stockholm. The capitol only enjoyed Emma´s presence for about six months before she got her first international jobs and moved on to Milan. Not a big fan of this city she moved on to Paris instead and was housed in a model flat with two other girls. “I usually giggle a bit when watching Top Model where the girls get to move in to a big luxurious flat. It is really quite far from how it normally works”, Emma tells.

The fashion world is tough and in the back of Emma´s head was always the thought of moving back home and begin university. Suddenly things started happening though and Emma was on the cover of British Elle, which is one of the real prestige magazines. Two covers in a row in a magazine of that magnitude gives a lot of attention when it is a new face and after that it kept happening.

“It is a lot of hard work but you also need to have some luck. Just like with everything else there are trends in looks and with my tomboy look I was exactly right for Elle at that point. I did loads of covers for them after that”, Emma explains. The difference can be seen by the fact that she has hardly ever done any cover s for Vogue, only one for Spanish Vogue. “I just did not have their style and it is nothing strange with that”, Emma says.

Talking with Emma about the modeling world is obviously very fascinating. She has met everybody, worked with everybody, knows everybody and has a ton of hilarious tales to tell. She has always been very open to different kinds of jobs and this has given her an extremely varied experience.

1989-1994 was the best yeas when everything just kept happening but after -94 it started feeling a bit slower and Emma started thinking about doing something new. This process took quite a few years and she did not move back to Stockholm until 2000 where she (and all this is said in one sentence…) studied literature, met her husband, became pregnant and… had a baby (I told you – she is intense). “It was so incredibly nice to be able to focus on something completely different. Modeling is quite something and rather self centered and it was nice to be home and have a quiet life”, she explains.

This bunch of energy never really goes without anything to do for a long time though. During her pregnancy she started writing for the magazine “Mama” and after a while other jobs started coming as well among them a shoot for retailer Lindex. This was the shoot that became the start of a completely new career.

With time it led to Emma becoming a member of the board for Lindex and today she is working full time as Fashion Consumer Advisor for the retailer. “It is a really exciting job where I work with marketing, press and the buyers”, Emma explains and continues “Lindex is really exciting. The company has done a long journey since we started working together and still there are things to be done, not the least when it comes to the image of the company”.

Anyone talking to Emma will understand what a strong commitment she has to the company. A slight culture collision between her and Lindex, that still is a very mature company, can also be detected but it does seem like a clash that is enriching for both parts. “It is fun to be able to add all the experience I have after all my years in the fashion industry and amazing to realize how much I actually know though I have never had to put names and terms on it”, Emma says.

To finish off the interview I ask Emma to tell me a high light from her career. A question like that is interesting because it says so much about the person you interview. Emma chooses and episode where she got help from Linda Evangelista, which led to a lot of work for Versace. “It is great to be able to tell a story like this since it does say there is more to the modeling world than just bitching and hard elbows. It is also a world where people help and encourage each other”.

No other episode could have said more about this positive bunch of energy that we hope to see much more of in the future as well.