HAUS OF TWELV #7: Frederikke Toftsø
Blogging from Copenhagen, Frederikke Toftsø shares her love for sneakers with the world. Her effortless, minimal style has already struck the love of more than 19.6K fashion enthusiasts who follow her on Instagram. In a laid-back atmosphere, she showcases her cool-without-overdoing-it style on the Fredes Blog, allowing girls and women to engage with the striking, street fashion icon.
Frede, as she introduces herself, is the best friend we all would love to have. She is funny, lives in one of the coolest cities (in which she knows all the good spots), has a cute dog, and is a hot yogo enthusiast. Oh, and she travels non-stop! Are you jealous yet?
---------FREDERIKKE TOFTSØ's INTERVIEW---------
1.Tell us about yourself– what do you do? where do you live?
I'm Frede! Hi! I'm in my late twenties and trying to deal with it... I work as women's director at Rezet Sneaker Store in Copenhagen. I do buying, concept development, events and campaigns. I love sneakers and it is a dream come true, to work with kicks all day. Besides my day job I run my blog, Fredesblog, 7 years and counting. I blog about fashion, travels, training and of course, sneakers. When I'm not working at Rezet Sneaker Store or blogging, I'm probably strolling around Vesterbro in Copenhagen where I live, walking my dog Winston (follow him on Instagram @winstoneinstein) drinking coffee and hanging out with my boyfriend. I also work out a lot. I do hot yoga and cardio training at Senses, a yoga studio in my area and then i run with Adidas Runners Copenhagen.
2.Which 5 words would you choose to describe yourself?
Funny (hah)
Energetic
Positive
Hard working
Sensitive
3.What motivated you to start blogging?
I wanted to create my own ‘space’ where I could share the things I love and what inspires me. It seemed so convenient at that time.
4.Your blog is written in Danish, can you explain its content to unfamiliar English viewers?
Yes, actually I just got this nice translation feature so you can read my blog in several languages(!). But it’s about fashion, sneakers, travels and easy beauty. I also post about some restaurants that I love, workouts and other stuff that is going on.
5.How has blogging affected your life?
It’s become my way of living, like 30% of my life. When I’m done on my day job, I go home and work on the blog for a few hours. It’s brought me around the world and introduced me to a lot of awesome people. It also helped me develop my skills for concept development and social media.
6.You are a part of « Society B », can you tell us more about it?
Society B is a commercial blogger network that gathers a selection of the top fashion bloggers in Denmark. I love that it gives me cool neighbors, but behind the scenes, it gives me a lot more time to focus on content, and not on business.
7.How would you describe your style?
I’m part Scandi minimalist and part pattern crazy. I love a good black cashmere knit with suit pants, but I also wear crazy sneakers and lots of colors. So I’m a mix. I think the most important thing is that I try to find looks I’m really comfortable in, but I also try to experiment. And sometimes I come home and I think, hey that didn’t work out, but then I evaluate and try to work from there. And then there are the days when I just wear jeans and a t-shirt.
8.What does fashion mean to you?
It’s a development that reflects it’s time. Like art, music and history. It changes and is affected by cultural inputs. I find it extremely fascinating and I try to both stay in it and experience the changes, but I also try to step away and look at it in a broader perspective.
9.What and who are your sources of inspiration?
Ohhh how I love Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and online browsing in general. I spend 20-30 minutes every morning going through different sites, newsletters, accounts and so on. I need stimuli and I get super inspired. It’s a part of my job to stay on top of my game, so I have to know what is going on.
10.Last year, you wrote a book with fellow blogger Sidsel Alling, entitled « Smart. » What sparked this project? Can you tell us more about it?
We were fortunate enough to get this opportunity to express our thoughts on personal style and Smart is a manifest of just that, but it is also a guidebook. We worked so hard on it, taking almost all the pictures ourselves. I seriously wrote most of it on airplanes traveling from NYC, Thailand, Iceland, Germany and many other places. The main point was to communicate that style is something totally individual and very personal. You have to feel good, to look good and it can be damn hard to find out how to feel good. SMART is an encouragement for all people to find out how to dress, to feel like you can take on the world. It’s also about skipping heels over sneakers and how to analyze if you made a good shopping choice.
11.The book is only available in Danish, right? Will it be published in English too?
Yes, unfortunately. I hope it will be available at some point.
12.You also did a collaboration with Hvisk, a Danish jewelry brand. Can you tell us about this project?
I have never had a desire to become a designer, so this collab (and a new one I’m launching next month) is sort of these coincidences where I have a specific idea for a design, that suits the brand. Hvisk is a young and dynamic brand and they were keen on moving quick and make something different. I’ve always loved smileys (I even have one tattooed on my arm) and my idea was to make my favorite smileys into simple jewelry. I’m really happy about the combination of the classical jewelry like the signet ring, with a huge smiley on. It's a contrast that suits my life and way of living. Also, it’s a reminder of things that makes me happy. I did the campaign with some of my best friends, my sister, and my dog Winston as models. I wanted to make it about the people in my life that inspire and moves me.
13.Is that something you would like to do again?
Yes! If a have a good idea for a design, I would def. do it. But for now I’m really excited for what’s coming - it’s footwear, and it’s not sneakers! #spoiler
14.What are your favorites places in Copenhagen to shop?
I live in Vesterbro and every morning I take my dog Winston out for a walk in our neighborhood. I get a coffee at my local place and we stroll around or find a green spot. It makes me so happy every morning, to experience my city in that way.
15.What about places to grab a drink or share a nice meals with friends?
This is my top 5 list:
Pizza and anti pasti at BÆST
Coffee at Prolog
Steak frites at Pastis
Beers at Byens Kro
Cake at La Glace
BLOG: Fredesblog
INSTAGRAM: @fredesblog
FACEBOOK: @fredesblog
TWITTER: @fredesblog
INTERVIEWED AND WRITTEN BY LOUISE GUILLOT
EDITED BY HOLLIS DE LANEY
PHOTO CREDIT: FREDERIKKE TOFTSØ
