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By Sasha Mills
itte Reffstrup is Creative Director at cool-girl Danish brand Ganni, known for its fun and colourful looks and playful branding. She took over the brand with her husband Nicolaj Reffstrup in 2009, reinventing what Scandinavian fashion is known for in the process.
Ditte took us through a morning in her busy life, from making lunchboxes for her three children to getting prepared on runway days and the coffee machine that she canāt live without.
āOn a runway day, the kids are still there. Of course youāre super nervous, but you need to do the lunch-boxes, you need to get them to school, they need to brush their teeth. So that kind of takes off the pressure.ā
6:30
My alarm goes off at 6:30, and whether I wake up depends on what side Iām sleeping on. Iām deaf in my right ear, so very often itās Nicolaj, my husband, getting pissed because I canāt hear my own alarm clock.
After that, I have a coffee, and Iām always thinking about when Iām going to sleep again. Iām always tired, I never wake up fully fresh ā maybe itās because I have three kids. If weāre lucky, they get up later than us, but now the big ones are starting school so they need to be up around 7:00, latest. Sometimes youāre lucky and theyāre already up and have started their breakfast, but other days youāre struggling to get them up.
So I go down and have my coffee, and start to make the kids lunchboxes. We have this really good machine, an old La Pavoni Cellini. Weāre very picky. Thereās this ritual around having our coffee, it means so much. Itās such a good start. At the office thereās also a big, barista-style coffee machine from Victoria Arduino, and itās a smaller version of the one we have at home.
If Iām at my parentās place, and they have this really bad coffee machine, I donāt get as good a start to the day. Itās a treat, and itās a ritual that I really enjoy.
In Denmark, in all schools you have to pack a lunchbox, thereās no food provided. Itās a very Danish routine to make lunchboxes for your kids.
On a runway day, the kids are still there, you know, so itās actually pretty much the same. Of course youāre super nervous, but you need to do the lunchboxes, you need to get them to school, they need to brush their teeth. So that kind of takes off the pressure.
7:00
Whether I do skincare really depends on how much time I have. If Iām lucky enough to have 20 minutes for myself, so that I can shower and do a mini facial, I will do that ā especially if I have something important during the day, and for runway days, I will prioritise a facial scrub or extra moisturiser.
I wish that I could be up earlier, maybe 6:00, so that I could always wake up and do that ā but when my alarm goes off I always prefer to prioritise sleep for 30 minutes more.
Iām using this skincare brand called Biologique Recherche, itās a french brand. You need to use so many products, I donāt have time for it ā Iām actually looking for new skincare brands! I donāt want to have to use 5 or 6 serums, I donāt have time and I just give it up.
My friend Andrea Rudolph has a skincare brand called Rudolph Care, and she has a really good facial scrub that I use if my skin is very dull or greyish.
7:30
I just tried that trend that everyone is talking about, intermittent fasting, because Iād heard it was super healthy, but I didnāt even manage to do it one day! Iām a breakfast person, and Iāll pretty much eat anything ā but one of my favourites is rye bread, with chocolate on. Not Nutella, itās called Palaegschokolade. Itās like a piece of chocolate you put on. Itās a Danish thing.
āThereās this ritual around having our coffee, it means so much. Itās such a good start.ā
8:00
I donāt have much routine, itās always just the everyday grind. It depends on if I need to take the kids to school, which Iāll do in my pyjamas, but I often get dressed after the shower. I donāt have many plans, I just do what feels right.
I donāt think much about dressing, itās about feeling. One friend told me that maybe I should think of my outfit the day before, so that I donāt get stressed, and Iām always running 10 minutes late. But that doesnāt work for me. I can find something the day before, and after my shower Iāll try to put it on and it doesnāt work for me that day. So itās very much about how I feel.
8:40
Biking is one of my routines that I donāt want to skip. I donāt have a driverās license, I just have a bike.
I cycle to work every day. It takes about 20 minutes, and I wear my headphones, and I listen to a podcast, or music, or call a good friend. Itās very precious time.
Iām very much a 90s person for music, but right now Iām listening to this podcast called How I Built This. One of my favourite episodes was with Ben & Jerryās ā itās a fantastic story. Itās all about how people have made companies ā it can be small ones or big ones. Iāve also listened to the one about Glossier, with Emily Weiss.
āI donāt think much about dressing, itās about feeling.ā
9:00
I will always go in and meet up with the team, and have some coffee. Iām not good at emails, Iād rather call. Itās very social, itās all about meetings. I work with many different teams so my day is packed up with different meetings, everything from the design team to the PR team to the business team.
I have a big office with a round table and lots of chairs, so itās very welcoming. The company has a flat structure, everyone sits together, and eats lunch together.
12:00
On a runway day weāre on the set pretty early. The rest of the team will be there setting up for the show, the models, the PR. Our shows usually start at 5:00.
Ganni is a proud sponsor of The Stack World Conference.
Ditte Reffstrup, Creative Director at Ganni, walks us through her morning rituals.
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