DESIGNER COUPLES: HOW WE MET

With flirty and fun-loving February 14 just around the corner, three of our most-hearted designer partners — in both work and life — share how their love stories began.

“We met on the dancefloor at a party almost 17 years ago now! We both love to party, so that was a promising start. We danced all night long and went to the movies the day after. We didn’t waste time. We became a couple straight away and got married six months later. Nicolaj proposed to me one Tuesday morning at 2am after a dinner with friends. At first, I didn’t think he was serious, but we were totally in love and didn’t tell anyone. I have to admit, I did check out the price of a divorce before the wedding just in case. It was cheap in Denmark, and even back then you could apply for one online, so we went with it! We were married a week later. To be honest, my first impression of Nicolaj was that he wasn’t really my type. At the time I was really into musicians, I’d just dated a rapper, and I was very into that scene. Nicolaj was different. He was wearing a nice shirt and looked more business-like than I was used to, which somehow intrigued me. I remember noticing that he was pretty tall and looked like a very young Val Kilmer. Nicolaj always says his first impression of me was that I was a bit crazy, but in a charming way! I was dancing like a maniac the night we met and still remember wearing a beautiful vintage green dress.”

– Ditte Reffstrup on her GANNI co-founder and partner Nicolaj Reffstrup

“Marco and I met through mutual friends on a night out in London, completely unaware that the following week we would be starting the same course, at the same university. As cliché as it sounds, the rest really is history! The first year of university is when we really started to lay the foundations of what came later, both personally and professionally. It was amazing to find someone to share that really special period of time with. We became each other’s support systems and formed a bond that was really special.”

– Kikka Cavenati on her 16Arlington co-founder and partner Marco Capaldo

“It's actually a cute story. We're both originally from Melbourne which has a relatively small creative scene, so we already knew each other through mutual friends. I wanted to join this gym and get a one-month free trial, but in order to do so, I had to provide phone numbers of 10 friends for the gym to contact. Out of my 10 friends, the only person to sign up was Kain. He then began organising lots of gym dates, including fun activities before and after the gym. So, the courtship began! Neither one of us joined the gym in the end.”

– Fiona Lau on her FFIXXED STUDIOS co-founder and partner Kain Picken

Shop the three brands featured in this story via the shoptab below.