Björn Sighsten Herrgård was a Finnish-born Swedish fashion designer and major trendsetter in Stockholm. In 1987, Herrgård was the first Swedish celebrity with

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

to disclose their status in public. Sighsten Herrgård received his fashion education at Beckmans School of Design in Stockholm and at the pattern development academies in Stockholm and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. His career took off in 1966 when he won the Courtauld International Design Competition with a collection of

unisex Unisex is an adjective indicating something is not sex-specific, i.e. is suitable for any type of sex. The term can also mean gender-blindness or gender neutrality. The term 'unisex' was coined in the 1960s and was used fairly informally. The co ...

clothing. In the 1970s Herrgård established internationally in Paris and North America; he also started a company in Stockholm and worked with television, magazines and shows. On 29 July 1987, Herrgård held a press conference, stating that "I'm going to die. I have AIDS. I may only have months left, but I want to

die with dignity Dignified death, death with dignity, dying with dignity or dignity in dying is an ethical concept aimed at avoiding suffering and maintaining control and autonomy in the end-of-life process. In general, it is usually treated as an extension of t ...

". His partner Roar Klingenberg (22 November 1941 – 21 September 1984), the first AIDS patient diagnosed in Sweden, had died 3 years earlier.

References

100 år med Aftonbladet – 1980-talet: Sighsten Herrgård gav seklets nya farsot ett ansikte
1943 births 1989 deaths AIDS-related deaths in Sweden Swedish gay artists LGBTQ fashion designers Businesspeople from Helsinki Swedish fashion designers 20th-century Swedish LGBTQ people {{Sweden-artist-stub