Mads Refslund, the Danish chef who popularized New Nordic cuisine, has not been wearing his chef’s whites recently. Since the coronavirus shutdown, his restaurant in New York City, Acme, has been closed. Still, the 42-year-old chef, who is hunkered down in the West Village, is busy fine tuning recipes (for Auberge hotels), devouring books (one every two days) and doing yoga (every morning). Here’s what his cozy, yet fashionable, wardrobe looks like lately.
1. Shirt
My secret is that I like to shop. I don’t know a lot of men that do, but I really like it. I have a very mixed wardrobe, but I usually end up wearing Italian, Japanese or French designers. I have noticed, though, that I usually wear grays, blacks, browns and a lot of nature, earthy colors. I’m not so colorful. I love the T-shirts from this French brand Avant Toi. I like the material — it’s breathable and so light that it almost feels like you have nothing on.
2. Pants
There’s an Italian brand called Transit. I love their trousers. They’re very light even when they’re cut in wool. I have shirts and jackets by them, too. Or I love Masnada. It’s another Italian brand with great cuts. I also have a couple pairs of jeans from Ralph Lauren, but the only thing I truly liked about them was Black Label and they don’t make it anymore.
3. Outerwear
Right now, I’m wearing a lot from Poème Bohémien. It’s a cool, cool brand. I have a really great jacket and suits from them. I bought one of their suits about a month ago — it’s a light linen in light gray. For little jackets, I also love Giorgio Brato. I have four jackets from them and also some trench coats. Actually I have two closets and one of them is just for shoes and jackets, and the other I share with my girlfriend.
4. Shoes
I have on my Common Projects. That’s the shoe I wear on a regular basis. In the summer, I usually wear only Birkenstock sandals. I also use them in the kitchen. I just find they’re so healthy for my feet when I’m standing all day. If I’m going out, I have Dolce & Gabbana shoes. I have a lot of shoes. I also really like John Varvatos: his shoes and leather shirts.
I would never wear something that had a huge Prada and Dolce & Gabbana logo on the front of it. It looks stupid, like you have a commercial sign on you. My clothing needs to be very discreet.
5. Accessories
I cannot afford all these expensive brands always, so I wait for the sales. But hats are something that I cannot wait to buy on sale. It goes all the way back to my granddad. He used to have all these hats because he was bald. I was very, very close with my granddad. I have a lot of Filson. I just got a new cowboy style by Kemo Sabe at this amazing hat store in Aspen.
I have a lot of bracelets and necklaces, many from John Varvatos. I have a necklace that I always have on from a very special person: my first girlfriend when I came to New York. It’s a John Varvatos lava stone with silver around it. I wear it every day. If I don’t wear it, I feel I am without luck.
