tastemakers

What the King and Queen of Scandi Style Buy for Themselves

Ditte and Nicolaj Reffstrup. Photo: NIKOLAJ MOELLER/Courtesy of Ganni

The younger cousin to the ideal French Girl aesthetic is the Scandi Cool one. Where the French girl wears red lipstick and a white shirt with a black bra, the Scandi(-navian) girl wears bright colors, fun prints, and clean lines. It’s a contradictory, trend-driven look that’s been having a moment for the past year or two, and one of the forces behind it is Ganni, a Danish brand that’s become indispensable to the street-style set. Ganni is co-owned by creative director Ditte Reffstrup and founder Nicolaj Reffstrup. They are known for their cowboy boots (even though Nicolaj says he’d never wear them) and eye-catching dresses. We talked to them about peppermint schnapps, the joy of missing out, and (indirectly) hygge.

How do you thank someone for a gift?
Ditte: Sending a text with lots of emoji hearts about two weeks late.
Nicolaj: By buying the next round of beers. If the gift sucks, I’ll buy them a shot of Peppermint Schnapps to go with it.

What would you never wear?
D: Heels, a short dress, and red lips all at once.
N: Cowboy boots, just can’t pull ‘em off. Nor can I really put ‘em on.

What’s your dream vacation?
D: Being with my family in Hirtshals over the summer. It’s my hometown — a small fisherman’s village in northern Denmark. The summers there are magical.
N: At the moment skiing, although I’m pretty bad at it. But I want to appreciate it as long as it is still there.

Favorite piece of furniture in your apartment/office?
D: Our Børge Mogensen dining table. We bought it off the parents of our friends Sophie and Frederik Bille Brahe. That table literally has a soul.
N: Our custom made “Love Seat” from HAY with Raf Simons x Kvadrat upholstery. It’s super accommodating, fun and and vibrant. And Mette and Rolf who own HAY are good friends of ours, so I like having their things in our home.

Last show you binge-watched?
D: Sharp Objects.
N: Dark.

Secret to hosting a good party?
D: Good music and getting on the dance floor as early as possible.
N: Something unexpected.

What is a trend that you like right now?
D: JOMO. Joy of missing out. Or JOBO as Nicolaj calls it. Joy of being offline.
N: I love that, on a broader scale than ever before, people have our planet top of mind and want to take action now.

One you don’t understand?
D: Unpacking stuff on YouTube.
N: Out of fear of sounding too old for fashion, I won’t mention any.

What makes Danish style unique?
D: As Danes, we are brought up to appreciate good design by simply being surrounded by it. We have so much heritage coming from democratic design and especially our many talented cabinet makers.

N: I agree with Ditte, the democratic approach to good quality design is key. It’s not elite, it’s more humble and down to earth, creating high quality products that are relevant and available at an honest price point.

What’s another decade you’d like to live in and why?
D: The ’90s, on some dance floor raving to Damon Albarn.
N: 1920s in Berlin. Reading about it it seems they had a lot of fun back then in a “like there’s no tomorrow” kind of way.

What’s one piece of clothing you can’t part with?
D: My blue Converse, I have had them since I was 15.
N: My sturdy PORTER backpack, it saved me from sustaining serious back injury!

Favorite museum/gallery?
D: Hands down the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, on the outskirts of Copenhagen.
N: I wish everyone could get a lunch with Claus Robenhagen of Lisson Gallery (New York & London). He’s the closest I get to having a favorite gallery.

What’s your favorite…

Flower?
D: Sunflowers.
N: I’m more of a plants kind of guy.

Candle?
D: Fornasetti.
N: Programmable LED lights.

Scent?
D: Comme des Garçons White.
N: Real Purity Roll On.

Place to buy decor?
D: The Apartment, Copenhagen
N: Rune Bruun

Restaurant?
D: In New York, it would be Altro Paradiso.
N: In Copenhagen, so many options, but with an unlimited budge I love Noma for combining craziness with being super serious about perfection.

Socks?
D: Ganni socks, naturally!
N: Missoni.

T-shirt?
D: Vintage T-shirts.
N: Arket.

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What the King and Queen of Scandi Style Buy for Themselves