STYLE NOTES ON: DENISE NORGAARD

Exploring the style of Birger Christensen Collective's CEO Denise Nørgaard, I learned a lot about my own - even if I don't resonate with her wardrobe entirely.

The other day,

Tina

commented that she would love for me to do a Style Notes post on Denise Nørgaard. Thank you so much for the suggestion, Tina - this one’s for you. Actually, a lot of pictures reminded me of you and your style!

*all pictures via @denisechristensenbc

I have stumbled across Denise Nørgaard’s Instagram profile before - and I have to say I didn’t hit the ‘follow’-button. I try to keep my Instagram follows very intentional and her style doesn’t resonate with me a hundred percent - too much color and playfulness for my personal taste.

Which doesn’t mean I can’t make a Style Notes on her wardrobe. So, I’ve put together this post a bit differently this time: I took screenshots of my favorite looks of her and organized them by patterns and style elements - also a great exercise for my own personal style. Then, I put together a mood board and made some actual notes (scroll to the end of the post to have a look!).

For those who don’t know who I’m talking about, Denise Nørgaard is the CEO of Berger Christensen Collective, a fashion collective that marries the two brands Remain and Rotate (Rotate’s creative director Jeanette Madsen might ring a bell).

THREE WORDS

I think especially with someone you can’t identify with entirely, it’s great to define their three style words first. While browsing her Instagram feed, I recognized pretty quickly that she is a pattern repeater rather than an outfit repeater. You rarely see pieces again on her page (or at least not as often as on other feeds - except for her big The Row suede bag) but you can clearly identify a signature style and three style words. Here’s what I would choose for Denise:

SEVENTIES ELEGANCE:

Most of her looks have a certain seventies elegance and yes, this is cheating basically because it’s two words. But flared denim and pants, a lot of suede, oversized pieces in flowy material and a lot of shiny leather make me think of the seventies - but in an elegant way. Denise adds elegance to her looks with sleek, shiny hair, hair bands, structured hand bags and by not having too many elements in an outfit.

ECLECTIC:

Another word that came up was ‘playful’ but it seemed too young for her. Because she plays with colors, patterns and especially structure (fluffy furs and shiny leather!) - in a very grown-up way.

SILHOUETTES:

Denise plays with silhouettes like no-one I’ve seen lately. There are peplum-tops, over-cut coats and oversized leather jackets, a lot of flared pants and long pieces to be found on her feed.

Denise’s signature pieces would probably be her The Row suede bag, flared denim and pointy shoes. I also realized she’s one of the few women who change their hair from sleek bun or pony tail to undone hair from time to time.

OUTFIT PATTERNS AND STYLE ELEMENTS

DROP-SHOULDER

One group of Denise’s looks I loved was drop-shoulder pieces (is that even a word?). There’s blazers and leather jackets, trench coats and oversized knit sweaters. Whether it’s a denim shirt, a coat, or a boxy blazer - the shoulder of her pieces hardly ever hits on her actual shoulder but would always be lower. This element makes her looks modern and effortless and gives a coolness to it that might otherwise get lost in the high quality fabrics or very structured other elements.

STRUCTURE

A second element I love about her style is how she uses structures to make a look interesting. For her, this can be a leather jacket, a strong shoulder or a fur piece added. She also adds structured pieces such as knitted sweaters, patted bags and hand bags with a clear silhouette to a look.

SUEDE

Suede is connected to the idea of giving structure to an outfit because it gives a softer outcome to a look. Denise is using suede so well, I wanted to highlight this in an extra category. I’m personally very hesitant when it comes to suede because I find the structure too ‘cozy’ for my looks most of the time. Denise has a lot of great suede pieces in the same color family and plays with double suede (jacket and hand bag) a lot.

WHAT AM I TAKING AWAY FOR MY OWN PERSONAL STYLE?

This question is kind of exciting now because as I said, I don’t necessarily identify with Denise’s wardrobe. I did take some notes and did a little moodboard on what I loved in her looks and things I want to maybe try for spring.

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I hope you liked this edition of the Style Notes - it’s been so interesting for me to do a post on someone whose style is so different from mine! However, it always comes back to having your tried and tested outfit elements and style formulas if you want to have a signature style - which Denise definitely has!

Let me know if you have any other style favorites you want to see in a Style Notes post. Happy Saturday!

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