Chatting Villains With Freya Dalsjø

With a sophisticated website, an impressive resume, and several previous collections that rival those of the most experienced designer, Freya Dalsjø seems to have the world at her fingertips. Having blown up on the Danish fashion scene after opening CPH Fashion Week with her debut collection, one would never guess that behind all of this high fashion hype is a sweet 24-year-old girl with a smile of rainbows and a quirky-kind-of-fucked-up sense of humor. We met up with Freya at a café in Nørrebro to get a peek at what goes on inside the head of one of the youngest players in the Copenhagen fashion game.

VICE: What is one assumption that people have about you as a person or designer that really bugs you or is just plain wrong?

Freya Dalsjø: That I'm rich.

In your day-to-day life, what outfit are you most comfortable in? What would your friends describe as a “Freya outfit”?

I dress quite simple, and somehow very practical. Black pants and a sweater. I rarely wear high heals, because I'm running too much around. I have had the same bag for 5 years and wear it everyday. I like to wear something from my own collection, to try it out and see what it feels like, feel where it would have been nicer to put the pockets or if the shoes should have had a different sole, and because I feel cool in it as well.

Picture via Insolance

When you sit down to design, do you have a person in mind that you are designing for, either real or imaginary? What are they like?

Yes. I always have someone in mind when I start, usually someone I just met or found and whom I find attractive. Usually they are quite sexy. I love sexy women. The kind of women that other women hate.

Do you follow any fashion or street style blogs? Which ones?

I do, but not that much though. I usually check out the magazines more than personal blogs. Maybe I just haven’t found the good ones yet. Once in a while I get lost for hours on the internet though, I love to collect a lot of images. Again, I am a collector.

When are you most in Zen mode?

After a long day - when there is no more unanswered mails, everyone else has left the office and people have stopped calling - then I can be alone and I gather my thoughts and do whatever I feel like. Recently I have started doing bikram yoga and that really clears your head. Really long showers are good as well.

What fantasy characters were you most fascinated with as a child?

Cruella de Vil. Or characters I made up.

If you were to design the costume for a Disney character, would it be for the hero/princess or the villain? Why?

The villain. They always wear the tightest suit.

Picture via Insolance

Can you describe one outfit that you’ve worn or designed in the past that you look back now and think, “What the fuck was I thinking?”

When I think back I think more of all the ugly hairstyles I've had; pink hair, red and blue, black, pixie short hair, and then that horrible period when your hair is outgrown and has different colors. I've worn a lot of things I might not wear today, but they were lovely in their own way.

And then, once I created a jacket out of a lot of dolls. That was quite fucked up.

That does sound quite fucked up indeed. Thanks Freya, we look forward to seeing what you come up with next. 

Follow Danika Maia on Instagram: @danikamaia