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 U.S. was Madonna.” Reffstrup has been deeply passionate about music ever since, seeing it not just as a medium that shaped her identity, but one that represents connectivity and community too. Throughout lockdown, it’s where she turned for inspiration and to boost her mood, often with the ’90s hits she remembers from her youth. Of course, attending a concert would’ve been ideal—so for fall 2021, she and her husband Nicolaj, Ganni’s founder, staged one of their own.
The digital experience, “Love Forever,” isn’t another video of models dancing awkwardly to a canned playlist. It includes real performances by Zsela, Deb Never, and Coco O., and will stream today on YouTube and Ganni’s Instagram. After a year of virtual shows, it’s surprising how few designers have done something similar; a virtual concert is more likely to engage young shoppers like Ganni’s than a prerecorded show or a moody fashion film. They’ll be excited to discover new music in addition to the new collection.
On that note, Reffstrup said she was thinking about what artists wear onstage—clothes that have an immediate impact and read well on a screen. On a Zoom call, she pointed out a jacket in a hi-def emerald green (she joked it was the exact shade of Kermit the Frog) and a few moments of flash, like a metallic-coated denim vest and matching jeans with curvy legs. Elsewhere, Ganni-isms like lean dresses, boxy suits, and statement collars were simply tweaked with new, voluminous proportions or odd textures. The once ruffly collars shrank a bit with newly sharp edges, and a Gen Z–friendly skirt set came in puffy quilted brown leather.
Much of it will feel familiar to the #GanniGirl, which was intentional; Reffstrup isn’t looking to challenge her with new trends or unrealistic shapes right now. Like Reffstrup’s favorite ’80s and ’90s albums, these clothes are meant to be moments of uplift and small reminders that better days (and IRL concerts!) are coming. “It’s this feeling that we aren’t alone in the world,” she said. “It’s a collection full of optimism.”
