Sighsten
Herrgård,
(1943–1989),
was a
Swedish
fashion
designer.
He was the
first
Swedish
celebrity
with AIDS to
go public
about it,
"giving AIDS
a face".
Sighsten
Herrgård got
his
fashion
education at
Beckmans
School of
Design
in Stockholm
and at the
pattern
development
academies in
Stockholm
and
Copenhagen.
His career
took off in
1966 when he
won the
Courtauld
International
Design
Competition
with a
collection
of unisex
clothing.
In the 1970s
Herrgård
etablished
internationally
in Paris and
North
America; he
also started
a company in
Stockholm
and worked
with
television,
magazines
and
shows.
On 30
July 1987
Herrgård
held a
dramatic
press
conference,
stating "I'm
going to
die. I have
AIDS. I may
only have
months left,
but I want
to die with
dignity".
At this
time in
Sweden the
disease and
its risks
was still
little
understood.
Herrgård
much
discussed
this with
his doctors
and decided
that "AIDS
needed to
get a face".
Although
doctors only
gave him
months to
live, a year
at most, he
survived
another two
years.