It was about the time that Gjesing, reviewing his phone bills (back when they were printed on paper), realized he was spending more time on the horn with Bjerregaard than with his wife, discussing their work and how they would do things differently, that the two decided to found Moon. “One of the things that became obvious through all of the conversations we had was that brands were either very good at doing business development/commercial strategies or great at being creative. But we felt that there was this blank space when connecting these two things,” Gjesing explains.
It was Antony and the Johnsons’ song “Future Feminism,” which is all about the power of earth’s satellite, that brought the name Moon into the business partners’ orbit. The round shape of our planetary orb seems to relate back to the team’s “360 mindset,” their “holistic” approach, and their desire to create “a closed circle; a universe,” but from a distance. The decision to remain in their hometown of Copenhagen gives Moon something of an “outsider” status. But staying local allows Bjerregaard and Gjesing to craft a healthy work/life balance. “The most important thing is that our office opens at nine in the morning and it closes at five,” says Bjerregaard. “We are a small company; we are always less than 10, and we try to do as good as we can with the things that we can control and make it personal; we are family oriented.”
To an outsider, this balanced approach feels especially Scandinavian, as does Moon’s preference for paring things back to the essential, which is only really possible once you have a thorough understanding of a subject. When Moon takes on a client, “we know that we’re going to start from scratch just like understanding how the people speak there, what they sell, what they dream about…. And when it comes to the output, trying to simplify what that’s all about in a sentence, in two sentences…” notes Bjerregaard. “I started out in journalism; I love a good wham, bam headline, simple and easy to grasp in an instant. For us strong words and images are the same: tricky to get right, easy to love. Good communication connects people, touches people.”
What’s your involvement with Copenhagen Fashion Week?
FB & MG: On one hand CPHFW is business as usual. Even busier than usual, actually. It’s a fun week for Moon. We’ve been prepping for months. Now it’s showtime. But Fashion Week also means we get to spend time with our friends and collaborators. We’ve always worked with friends or people we like, or connect with—it’s one of our golden rules—so Fashion Week is a lot of fun, too.
Monday is Cecilie Bahnsen, a super-intimate “bedroom dream pop” concert with the French singer Suki. Cecilie is one of our longest collaborators and oldest friends. We just did a launch for her Asics collab in Paris, and we’re working on her upcoming Paris show, so this is a nice relaxed in-between moment. Tuesday is the Sunflower show. These guys are our downstairs neighbors in the office, and really good friends. The show is in our communal courtyard and we’re keeping it low-key simple, but expect an ’80s surprise. Wednesday is Little Italy, which is this project we’re doing with the Danish swimwear icon, H2O. We’ve been working with them on a Sicilian summer campaign, and this is the opening, launching a capsule collection and temporary Palermo shop in the center of Copenhagen. Later in the night we’re cooking up pasta vongole with the Italian footwear company Diemme at Martin’s Italo Caffé. Thursday is massive. It’s the Ganni show, which is always special to us. We’ve worked with Ditte and Nicolaj Reffstrup since the beginning, when they had a handful of staff, and we were just four on the team at Moon. This season is super exciting, a tech heavy show that taps into the DNA of the Ganni girl.
Where do you see the week going? How, if at all, could it be an even more essential part of global fashion?
FB & MG: CPHFW and a few amazing brands have managed to create an atmosphere that means people come to Copenhagen from everywhere. Fashion people are always telling us how they now they start their traditional August holiday a little later to squeeze in CPHFW. It’s become an important part of their calendar. Partly that’s the focus on how to do a fashion week more sustainably—that has inspired the industry globally. August is also the best time of year to visit Copenhagen, take a dip in the harbor. What’s not to like?
What’s the secret of the Scandi way?
FB & MG: We honestly don’t think there is a secret to the Scandinavian sense of style. Partly how Scandinavian women dress is about lifestyle. Everyone knows about Copenhagen girls getting everywhere on their bikes. At the beginning of Ganni that really was a big thing for Ditte, designing clothes that worked for herself and the women she saw around her on the streets, who didn’t want Scandi minimalism. Sneakers and dresses. We often talk about this idea of “not saving for best.” You wear your most favorite dress to work on a Tuesday morning to feel good and super nice. It’s a very Copenhagen mindset—the best for everyday.
