Margit Bjørløw Brandt, born 27 January 1945 in Denmark, completed an apprenticeship in tailoring at Københavns Tilskærerakademi in 1964 and took beacem an apprentice to Pierre Balmain in Paris shortly after. She met and married Erik Brandt in 1966 and as jetsetters the couple frequented the famous New York club Studio 54 where they developed close friendships with the likes of Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Diana Vreeland and Truman Capote.
Margit and Erik Brandt
Margit Brandt introduced her first collection under the label B-age together with her husband Erik Brandt at the Copenhagen Fashion Fair in 1965. The design was unprecedentedly short and close-fitted and very different from what other designers were presenting and the collection filled a gap in the market offering young women chic fashion. Throughout the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s, Margit Brandt was a renowned global fashion brand, known for woman’s fashion, lingerie, swimwear, children’s wear, jewellery, home wear, furniture, cosmetics and fashion watches available in Harrods, Selfridges, Bendels, Saks and Bloomingdales in addition to own label stores in Paris, Barcelona, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York and London. Erik had a nose for branding and self promotion, one year the staff at the fashion fair were replaced by a red telephone with a direct line to head office. Buyers could simply call in their orders! Margit Brandt was also engaged in other unique assignments, she twice designed the official uniforms for the Danish Olympic team as well as the new gala uniforms for the Royal Danish Air Force. The brand was relaunched in 2005, staying true to its roots with fashion forward and trendsetting clothes for young women. Margit Brandt was further acknowledged for her lifelong commitment to Danish Fashion when she was knighted by the Queen of Denmark and received the Knight of the Royal Order of Dannebrog.
Margit Brandt sadly passed away because of illness October 2011.
