For Ganni's spring/summer 2026 presentation, creative director Ditte Reffstrup plucked ephemeral summer moments from her own memory to craft a collection steeped in nostalgia
Much has been said about the Ganni Girl; an effervescent, effortless creature – Danish, sometimes – who pulls off playful looks with panache. So for Ganni to show its spring/summer 2026 collection via presentation on lifeless sculptural mannequins was a strong choice, one that placed the garments themselves centre stage. “We wanted to slow things down and create a space where people can really immerse themselves in the collection and connect to the story behind it,” says creative director Ditte Reffstrup. “A presentation gives you more time to see the details, to understand the inspiration and to experience the craftsmanship up close.”
That isn’t to say there wasn’t any mood-setting. The Bastille Design Centre in Paris, a grand 19th century building, was transformed into, as Reffstrup puts it, “a daydream”. Evoking summers spent in Hirtshals, the coastal Danish fishing town where the designer grew up, floral and fauna peeked out of bags and sprung from wooden surfaces, whilst a reverie-like film steeped in nostalgia – faded images of a summer mood – flickered in the background. “So much of my time was spent outside; in the garden, by the sea, lost in my own daydreams,” says Reffstrup. “Those summers left such a mark on me. You know the kind of memories that just stay forever?”
Those ephemeral memories are captured in the garments. Take, for instance, the twists and knots disrupting the hem of a shirt or the shoulder of a dress, fabric wrapped around the torso to create new silhouettes. They evoke the notion of childlike dress-up – Reffstrup’s early experiments with design. “Patchwork came from those rainy afternoons stuck indoors, playing dress-up in an adult’s wardrobe, knotting and twisting and tying things together to make them your own,” she says. True to the brand’s spirit, these pieces are designed in a choose-your-own adventure manner, inviting the wearer to make them their own.
In a more literal reference to summer, florals are central to the offering, faded and distorted like a memory. “Some appear as delicate micro-blooms, inspired by the wallpaper in our summer house,” says Reffstrup. "Others are blurred, almost in motion, like when you look out the window of a moving car and the fields rush by.” A more tactile interpretation comes by way of 3D crochet blooms (a labour of love that took hours to bring to life). As Reffstrup notes, these handicraft details “take me back to making things with my hands when I was bored as a kid in a small town”. These are the sort of pieces that beg to be touched (another bonus of a presentation format). Up close, the taffeta and organza, the printed silks and Italian wool (sustainable, of course) bring texture and substance to Ganni’s lingering memories.
There’s another bonus to the presentation format that feels very Ganni. “It also means we can be more inclusive,” says Reffstrup, who invited Parisian students to take in the moment. “I think it’s so important to inspire the next generation. Fashion should feel open, not closed off, and this felt like a way to share the moment with people just starting their creative journey.” Future dreamers, if you will.
