Throwing Fits: The Sigurd Bank Interview

Podcast: Throwing Fits
Date: October 13, 2025
Guest: Sigurd Bank (Founder & Creative Director of MF Pen)
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, the Throwing Fits hosts sit down in Copenhagen with Sigurd Bank, the founder and creative director of MF Pen—a Danish menswear brand whose influence and popularity have soared as it approaches its 10th anniversary. With the Fall 2025 collection dropping, Sigurd offers a candid look into his creative process, the DNA and ethos behind MF Pen, and his personal relationship with Copenhagen, the fashion industry, and his own team. Expect laughter, behind-the-scenes stories, sharp insights about brand authenticity, and a celebration of slow, intentional growth over hype.

Key Topics and Insights

1. Room/Setting Vibes & Fit Check (02:00-21:45)

• The episode opens in a quirky venue: an old post office, now part of MF Pen's building—a setting befitting the brand’s utilitarian, slightly off-kilter vibe.
• Sigurd runs through a detailed “fit check,” revealing his penchant for comfortable footwear (“new MF Pen derby, Spring 26 colorway”—04:04) and lack of rare sneakers, favoring staples like New Balance, Asics, and America’s Cup Pradas (05:10–05:16).
• Explains denim’s role in the brand (“I don't want MF Pen to be a denim brand…”—06:46), naming conventions (“Big Jeans, Bigger Jeans”—07:34), and product naming’s candid, sometimes whimsical process (“Sometimes you just find a word and just have it sound intriguing”—08:38).
• Touches on his layered look, eccentric hat (hand-customized with his daughter’s embroidering, a Yankees logo, and a safety pin—12:21), and the sentimental story of his “wedding shirt,” now an MF Pen sample (10:32).

Notable Quote

“I have a hat and then it has a life...when it starts breathing its own life, I kind of throw it out, get a new hat.”
—Sigurd [11:35]

2. MF Pen’s Brand Philosophy: Authenticity Over Hype (14:22-26:47)

• Sigurd describes the unique sense of restraint in product categories: why MF Pen doesn’t chase trends in hats, sneakers, or products that don’t feel “true” to the MF Pen DNA (“We don’t have to make it just because we can do more sales”—14:41).
• Insight into MF Pen’s approach to growth and consistency: “The consistency of just doing products that feel like you, instead of chasing every single trend.”—15:39
• Reluctance towards hype-driven marketing or influencer seeding—prefers organic growth and pride in creating clothes his team would actually wear.
• Touches on the challenge of working with deadstock, focus on quality, and aversion to waste.

Notable Quote

“I think the consistency of just doing products that feel like you, instead of chasing every trend, is what makes a brand last.”
—Sigurd [15:39]

3. Copenhagen Life, Work Culture & Fashion Scene (21:51–38:16)

• MF Pen: a small, close-knit team; Sigurd jokes about spending enough time with them already (22:05).
• On Copenhagen Fashion Week:
  • The low-stakes, community-oriented nature, compared to the business frenzies of Paris: “Paris is where we do our business...Copenhagen is for hanging out.” (24:19)
  • Fashion Week’s role in raising local awareness and creative community-building.
• Discusses why he loves Copenhagen, especially in summer when most leave: “I go camping...I love just like, laying on my couch in the afternoon watching Tour de France, you know?” (29:23)
• The Scandinavian preference for comfort and “hygge,” with Sigurd clarifying the national obsession with coziness (“You can even use the word for sex, I guess”—33:16).

Notable Quote

“Napping at Tour de France is like the prime nap, you know?”
—Sigurd [30:05]

4. Design Philosophy & Melancholic Elegance (34:49–37:43)

• Sigurd explains the slightly melancholic, understated “vibe” of MF Pen, rooted in his personal taste and the Danish environment.
• Rejects color and “novelty” for their own sake, preferring subtle quirky details like flower rivets or mixed linings.
• Connects the “moodiness” of Scandinavian winters to the emotional sensibility of his clothing.

Notable Quotes

“I want my clothing to kind of, somehow express that, you know, like...melancholic.”
—Sigurd [35:18]
“I like that it’s a bit, somehow, dark in a way.”
—Sigurd [36:20]

5. Process, Deadstock, and the Problem with Hype (38:38–56:58)

• The joy of deadstock idiosyncrasies: “You can buy another jacket, same jacket from a different store, and [it’s] a slightly different color...one of one.” (40:21)
• Brand is always “team first”—if they wouldn’t wear a piece, it doesn’t make it.
• Discusses influencer culture and MF Pen’s strict policy against seeding, gifting, and paid ads. Responds to DMs personally, but only if the sender actually follows the brand.
• On the fireman jacket hype/“brick” moments: delays and unexpected demand, revealing the unpredictability of what goes viral, and his discomfort with hype (“When something has hype, it gets a little...not dishonest, but a little diluted”—53:41).

Notable Quote

“We never ever paid for any ads...we never did any of that stuff.”
—Sigurd [56:23]

6. Intentional Growth, Independence & Philosophy of Limitation (61:44–71:53)

• Sigurd breaks down how MF Pen’s growth has always been organic, debt-free, and independent—no investors, no push for unnecessary expansion.
• Candid about the fortunes left “on the table” by not scaling up inventory or chasing maximal distribution. “I would rather have a product selling out than having too much stock.” (67:59)
• Prefers to achieve “inevitable” growth through quality and staying niche.

Notable Quotes

“I never had any debt in the company...never had investors...all fully independent.”
—Sigurd [70:51]
“Growth is not necessarily the end goal.”
—Sigurd [63:49]

7. Innovation, Mistakes, and Fashion’s Production Side (72:10–76:51)

• Ongoing experiments with treatments, like lasered corduroy, and candid talk about trial and error.
• How factories and laundry houses drive innovation. Funny anecdote about refusing “waterproof jeans” that later turned out to be hazardous (“...two years later...it gives you cancer”—73:55).
• Willingness to “freak” existing techniques (“We took their pattern and then did the punch out...” (76:28)) but always on MF Pen’s terms.

Notable Quote

“No, don't wear waterproof jeans.”
—Sigurd [74:44]

8. LVMH Prize, Recognition, and Success (76:40–83:32)

• Reflects on being a semi-finalist for the LVMH Prize—felt exhausted by the “circus” of the competition, relieved not to win, and proud of MF Pen’s financial and creative independence.
• Tells stories about Anna Wintour and Jaden Smith visiting the booth: “He just picks out...a blue striped shirt. I was like, dude, it’s a blue striped shirt!” (80:17)
• Teases the use of deadstock Margiela fabrics for a future collection.

Notable Quote

“In all fairness, our stuff is very boring at LVMH Prize...but end of the day, we just want to do very, very good product.”
—Sigurd [81:19]

9. MF Pen’s 10-Year Anniversary & The Next Decade (83:37–86:45)

• Details on 10-year plans: A collaboration with Japanese label Reproduction of Found (83:57), a New Balance collab using “forgotten fabrics” (84:39–85:49), and a special project in Dover Street Market London.
• A year of “colliding” projects—parties, “small collection,” and anniversary pieces (Magella deadstock-enhanced products).

10. Music, Food, and Personal Life (92:53–94:52)

• Sigurd’s main personal splurges: food (“three days a week in summer eating out”) and vinyl records (“better to have good stuff than a lot of stuff”—94:32).
• Recaps his hardcore roots: into hardcore shows, bikes around tagging, and maintains a non-corporate personality despite MF Pen’s subtle “corporate” aesthetic (91:03).

11. Final Thoughts & Constructive Criticism (95:07–97:01)

• When asked for constructive criticism for Throwing Fits, he jokes about the hosts not wearing enough MF Pen and reminisces about a wild New York night together.
• Final plug: “Go buy some MF Pen...Stay tuned for year ten, stay tuned for the next ten years.” (96:48–96:57)

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "I have a hat and then it has a life...when it starts breathing its own life, I kind of throw it out, get a new hat." [11:35]
• “The consistency of just doing products that feel like you, instead of chasing every single trend, is what makes a brand last.” [15:39]
• "Napping at Tour de France is like the prime nap, you know?" [30:05]
• "I want my clothing to somehow express that, you know, like... melancholic." [35:18]
• “I would rather have a product selling out than having too much stock.” [67:59]
• “No, don't wear waterproof jeans.” [74:44]
• “In all fairness, our stuff is very boring at LVMH Prize...but end of the day, we just want to do very, very good product.” [81:19]

Useful Timestamps

• Fit Check, Brand DNA, Naming: 02:00–14:06
• Product Restraint & Authentic Growth: 14:22–26:47
• Copenhagen, “Hygge”, and Work Life: 27:27–38:16
• Design Philosophy ("Melancholic" Fashion): 34:49–37:43
• Deadstock & Hype: 38:38–56:58
• Growth & Independence: 61:44–71:53
• Innovation and Production: 72:10–76:51
• Awards & Industry Recognition: 76:40–83:37
• Anniversary Plans: 83:37–86:45
• Personal Life, Hobbies: 92:53–94:52
• Closing Thoughts: 95:07–97:01

Tone

As always, the Throwing Fits tone is irreverent, jokey, and candid—Sigurd matches the mood with warmth and honesty, adding a Scandinavian self-deprecating wit and humility.

For New Listeners

This episode provides a deep, personable look into the mind of an independent designer committed to authenticity, sustainability, and slow growth in a hype-driven industry. If you care about how quality, vision, and a sense of self can quietly upend fashion’s rules—and want a peek behind the scenes of contemporary Copenhagen—this one’s for you.