The words ‘Scandi Chic’ hold indisputable fashion currency, but what they have come to mean has changed thanks to one brand. Danish label Ganni has been the trailblazing a new era of Scandinavian style that’s fun, colourful and affordable. What it is not is androgynous, minimalist or architectural.
‘I kept meeting people who thought Scandinavian design was all about minimalism and androgyny, but I didn’t see myself in that,’ Ditte Reffstrup, Ganni’s creative director recently told Business of Fashion, ‘We have three children, and we don’t have a car. It's about an effortless and natural, laid-back style.’
Take their latest SS18 collection, for instance, there’s not a grey cashmere sweater in sight. There’s no Cos-esque trapeze dresses or clunky Acne-lite footwear. It was a playful wonderland of Victoriana pie-crust dresses, rainbow stripe knitwear and sunshine bright cropped yellow denim jackets. White cowboy boots were worn with low-slung elasticated trousers and bare tummies (this is a summer collection, after all), while multi-tiered party dresses with a painterly floral print were layered over slim-fit patterned turtle necks and matching leggings. There’s an eccentricity that makes Ganni feel fresh and in turn makes Copenhagen fashion week as a whole instantly relevant.
WATCH: The Most Breathtaking Gowns From Haute Couture Fashion Week
Stocked on both ASOS and Net-a-Porter, Ganni has the uncanny ability to be everything to everyone. It does a fine line in tailored suits, but in the same breath, it creates romantic, frothy party frocks and Alexa Chung-y dungarees. It has fashion’s Instagrammers in the palm its hands with editors unashamed to be caught wearing the same cult t-shirt by the label at the same event. Sacrilege!
Though the brand has been making waves since launching in 2000, it was only after husband-and-wife team Nikolaj and Ditte Reffstrup took the reins nine years later that it started leading the Scandinavian vanguard. With a price-point that places it above the throwaway fast fashion market of H&M, but affordable enough that you don’t have to spend months saving for it, they’ve created a new niche in a Scandi market.
Flick through a glossy's September issue, and we can bet our last pair of statement earrings on the fact that you'll see at least one Ganni item in a fashion spread. And, going by the social media reception of yesterday's show, we expect the same and more from next season.
READ MORE: Ganni Is One Of Your Five A Day At Copenhagen Fashion Week