Growing up in a small town in Denmark, Ganni’s creative director Ditte Reffstrup says MTV was her only source for pop culture and style. “There were no magazines, but there was MTV,” she said back in 2019. “My window to the US was Madonna. ”Reffstrup has always been passionate about music ever since, seeing it not only as a medium that shaped its identity, but one that represents connection and community as well. During the lockout, it was here that she turned to inspiration and to inspire her emotion, often with the 90s goal she remembers from her childhood. Of course, it would be great to attend a concert – so for fall 2021, she and her husband Nicolaj, Chief Ganni, organized one of their own.
Not the digital experience, “Love Forever,” another video of models dancing casually to a canned playlist. It features real shows with Zsela, Deb Never, and Coco O., and will be streamed today on Ganni ‘s YouTube and Instagram. After a year of meaningful shows, it’s surprising how few designers have done anything similar; a meaningful concert is more likely to engage with young customers like Ganni than a pre-recorded show or a grim fashion movie. They will have excitedly discovered new music as well as the new collection.
On that note, Reffstrup said she was wondering what artists wear on stage – clothes that instantly impress and read well on screen. On a Zoom call, she pointed to a jacket in emerald green hi-def (she joked that that was the real shade of Kermit the Frog) and a few minutes of flash, like a denim vest with a metallic cover and matching jeans with curved legs. Elsewhere, Ganni-isms were like lean dresses, boxy switches, statement collars just embellished with fresh, bulky bodices or a weird texture. The once headland collars stretched slightly with very sharp edges, and a ZZ-friendly skirt set came in a puffy quilted brown leather.
Many of him feel familiar with the #GanniGirl, which was deliberate; Reffstrup is not looking to challenge it with new moves or impractical shapes right now. Like Reffstrup’s favorite ’80s and’ 90s albums, these outfits are destined to be times of upheaval and small memories that better days (and IRL shows!) Are coming. “This is a feeling that we are not alone in the world,” she said. “It’s a collection full of hope.”