The rain had stopped, leaving only naked trees, dripping quietly,
black branches woven in the moonlight,
and a soft glow on the wet slate roofs.
All was tranquil, cool, and filled with dampness.
The earth, tired from the day, drank and dreamed,
merged with the breath of night,
and the moon was round and bright with joy.
Nothing was as before — the blind
nervous din of life was quelled,
and no one knew what night was thinking.
It rested, attentive as a woman who is loved.
The towers stretched silently to the barren
sky’s expanse of fog and stardust,
while the wind trembled in the wet leaves,
still troubled by the tears that had fallen.
The canal’s dark water lapped on the beach
with a soft pulse like a child asleep.
The light glittered on the black waves
like day and night together at play.
All was beautiful; all gray and dusty pain
was washed away by heaven’s warm tears.
In moonlight and dampness the city lay there
completely forgetting why it was sad.
It slept in peace, yet alert to dreams.
A church bell tolled three crisp tones,
and the night approached us, anxious about daytime,
as we walked with it into the morning mist.
By Tove Ditlevsen 1939
Translated from Danish by Michael Favala Goldman, 2022
A longtime dream to show at Paris, Cecilie Bahnsen presents her first runway show in the French capital at Palais de Tokyo, bringing her modern Scandinavian interpretation of Parisian couture fabrics and techniques. Incorporating structural silhouettes into her romantic universe, building a dialogue of pieces to treasure and cherish.
The show opens with a reading of Tove Ditlevsens “Night Wandering”, capturing an ambient mood, playing with the balance between the real and unreal, transcending its audience. Reproduced with the kind permission of Tove’s family, the poem is translated for the first time into English by Michael Favala Goldman. Cecilie first began to read Tove Ditlevsen’s poetry as a teenager. Later, in her 20s, she identified with Tove’s search to find her voice. Tove was a prolific chronicler of girls and women, writing fearlessly about their
complexity and waywardness and struggle for a place in the world.
The surrealistic and raw essence of the poem reverberates throughout the show, an industrial space left untouched and in its natural state, perfectly playing into the brand’s effortless approach. The mood of the
poem is captured thoughtfully; that thrill of being on the streets at night with a lover, alone in the city, you and I together while the world sleeps, hand in hand.
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