24 Hours With… Ditte Reffstrup Of GANNI

Ditte Reffstrup is the original GANNI girl. So who better to celebrate the recent and exclusive launch of the label’s new Lunar New Year capsule at Browns with… We haven’t caught up properly since 2020, so we jumped at the chance to spend the day with Ditte from sunrise to sunset, taking a sneak peek at what 24 hours (and New Year’s) normally looks like as creative director to one of the world’s most favourite fashion brands, and a beloved wife and mother.

(Hint: her day looks very stylish and busy…)

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What time do you wake up and where?
At 6:30AM our youngest daughter Rita Sophie wakes us up - she is the family’s alarm clock! That’s when the morning routine starts… breakfast for three kids, packing school bags and lunch. Mornings are never boring at our house, that's for sure.

What’s the first thing you do in the morning?
It’s a bit of a compulsive habit, but I check my emails on my phone. Then we roll out of bed and everyone gets to the kitchen. Priority number one is coffee. We have a really great coffee machine that we invested in a couple of years ago, so that first morning cup is such a treat.

Where are you usually based?
I’m based in Copenhagen where our HQ is. It’s home for me, it’s where my heart is. There’s really no place like it.

What does your average day look like?
Every day is different, but I’m always in the studio with my team. We work very closely on all collections, so throughout the day I have a lot of meetings with our design team who work across various product groups in our collections. I’m also close with our brand teams working on campaigns, collabs and press. For me, going to work with a group of highly talented people every day is such a privilege. We have so much fun with what we do.

Do you have any morning rituals?
With three kids there isn’t a lot of morning zen in the house, but we really try to use meals as family time and prioritise sitting down together in the morning.

Where is your studio located and how do you get there?
Our studio is on the top floor of our HQ office building in the city. It’s where the majority of the design and creative team is based. When you walk into the studio you are met with a scene of chaos, creativity and colour. It’s a beautiful mess.

I don’t have a driver's licence. I actually hate driving, because I get really car sick. So I ride my bike to the office every day, rain, shine or snow. It’s my favourite way to start the day because it’s 20 minutes that I get to myself. I put my headphones on and blast the music out really loud and just let all the impressions sink in as I ride through the city.

How would you describe what you do?
As a creative director, I steer the design and creative vision of the brand, which means working collaboratively on setting the tone on collections and brand material. I love detail, so I am very close to the design process and see every single product from drawing to final sample.

How has your background influenced who you are today?
Contrary to most designers, I didn’t study design. I started out as a buyer in retail, so my entrance into fashion was really centred around the experience of what makes people feel their best in the fitting room. It gave me so much insight and helped me develop a strong sense of what it takes to create a great product.

How did you get your start in fashion?
I sort of always knew deep down inside that I wanted to work in fashion. As a kid I was always so meticulous about my outfits, always dressing up in some crazy Bananarama look. I grew up in a small fishermen's village in northern Denmark, where fashion wasn’t a thing. My mom was always so puzzled by where that sense of style came from. When I was 19 I moved to Copenhagen and got my first job in fashion, and haven’t looked back since.

What are the most important factors for the brand?
For us, GANNI is all about making products that make people feel the most confident version of themselves while creating a product that does the least amount of damage to our planet as possible. We are constantly looking at ways to do better across materials, production and innovation.

How do you get into a creative headspace?
For me, creativity isn’t something that you switch on and off. It’s just always on, I’m always thinking about how to evolve something or what we can do with a silhouette. I get inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. I probably feel most inspired when I’m on the streets. I love people watching and tapping into other people’s energy.

What do you do to take a break from work?
As a family we have taken up tennis, so on the weekends we spend a lot of time on the court. It’s great fun and has become a thing we do together.

What’s the vision behind the LNY capsule? How did you bring this vision to life?
We took inspiration from the rabbit, naturally! As 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit - which stands for longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture - we wanted to elaborate on those themes as part of the collection.

Which is your favourite piece from the capsule, and why?
I love the vintage-inspired rabbit tees. They are so easy to wear, and I always find myself going back to T-Shirts as a wardrobe staple.

Do you have any favourite New Year’s traditions?
We usually always do New Year’s at home. We love hosting friends for dinner parties, and New Year’s Eve is no exception - the more the merrier! It's a tradition to watch the Queen's speech while toasting champagne over oysters. We love seafood and will often go all out for the menu with lobster and caviar. I’ll usually be the first to hit the dance floor while my husband Nicolaj is busy organising the fireworks.

What’s on your bookshelf right now?
With three kids aged five, ten and twelve, I don’t have time to read a lot of books. I do love Apartamento magazine though and their coffee table books.

What do you usually do for dinner?
We’re pretty casual but we always cook a homemade meal. We don’t really eat a lot of meat, so it’s more about cooking seasonal greens and local produce. We often have friends over for dinner and I love that Nicolaj is always making plans because I never have time to. I’m an introverted extrovert which means I often feel a bit overwhelmed by plans, but once I have people around I always love it.

What time do you go to bed?
I try to be in bed by 11PM because otherwise I start spiralling too much. My mind can wander a lot so I really try to wind down a few hours ahead of going to bed to make sure I get a good night’s sleep. But I guess there are good intentions and then there is reality… so sometimes sleep is sparse!

Last thing you do before you sleep?
I’m quite ritualistic about my nighttime beauty routine. I really try to take good care of my skin and always rinse off the day and apply a rich sleep mask or moisturiser before bed. It’s a good way to slow down too.

Do you have any evening rituals?
Because Nicolaj and I work together, the border between work and home is very blurry. After 9PM we have a mutual agreement not to talk about work, however it’s a bit like the Paris agreement. Some parties tend to withdraw randomly at their good grace and then the mind gets going… It’s never-ending isn’t it?!

What do you dream about?
I dream a lot about the conversations we have at work. It could be something that has made a big impression on me creatively or even a collection I’m nervous about. I’m constantly wondering if what we are working on is good enough. I’m never really content because I always want to push a little harder for the next project - that’s a feeling I’m constantly dealing with.

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Words: Sophy Davis Russell

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