Representing the creative future

1 Granary Issue 7 This is Not About You(th)

Aalto 2025: Slow Worlds, Sharp Ideas

In a noisy industry, these graduates propose quieter, stranger, and more care-driven approaches to design.

Published Jun 19, 2025

Words by Jorinde Croese

Runway photographs by Kristian Presnal

At Aalto University, fashion is never just about clothes. It’s a way of thinking, a space for experimentation, and a tool for inquiry – deeply connected to both personal narrative and collective responsibility. This year’s graduates, spanning BA and MA, present work that moves fluidly between disciplines: from speculative ecology to pop aesthetics, participatory design to sonic textiles. What unites them is a refusal to accept fashion’s traditional boundaries.

In a world overwhelmed by speed, image, and disposability, these designers offer slower, stranger, more curious ways of making. Textiles become memory traces, bodies become instruments, and garments become sites for reflection, resistance, and reinvention. Whether embracing traditional craft or engineering new systems entirely, the collections underscore Aalto’s commitment to research-led creativity, collaboration, and care. Aalto’s fashion graduates don’t just imagine what fashion could look like – they ask what it could mean, and who it could be for.

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Alba Arillo Garcia
“RESONANCE: Becoming with Soil”

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

RESONANCE: Becoming with Soil draws from regenerative funerary practices, ecological grief, and the concept of the Garment-as-a-Body for burial rites. Inspired by more-than-human theory, death positivity, and multispecies rituals of farewell, the collection uses crafted textiles, biofabrication, and performative acts to explore decomposition as a site of transformation. It reframes endings through a lens of ecological renewal and intimacy with soil.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

Materials include algae skins, bioleathers made from organic waste, natural fibres, and cellulose-based composites. The palette echoes decomposition: charred blacks, rust, bone, blood red, and mycelial white – achieved through natural dyeing. Techniques span bio-assembling, crochet, knitted embeds, laser-etched tracery, modular cutting, and soil-based decay testing, combining speculative craft with scientific method.

What’s next?

This project will evolve into a PhD proposal exploring how art and design can reshape death care through ecological and emotional lenses. The Living Material Archive and Burial Observatory will serve as research tools for institutions seeking more-than-human approaches to end-of-life systems, offering new design methodologies grounded in soil, story, and sustainability.

@alba.arillo @liraballo

Annukka Havukumpu
“I Want My Body” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection explores the complexity of girlhood and the transitional phase of coming of age. It focuses on the awkward, clumsy in-between stage where a child’s body begins shifting toward womanhood. I wanted to express that “more is more” sensibility through exaggerated shapes, layered silhouettes and playful tension between innocence and agency. I was particularly inspired by Rineke Dijkstra’s portraits and videos – especially Beach Portraits and The Buzz Club – which capture moments of youth that are both vulnerable and powerful.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

The process started with textile development. I worked with industrial jacquard weaving, hand knitting, and an ADF knitting machine, and created prints through sublimation and laser engraving. Colour and pattern were key tools to reflect the visual abundance I associate with my own youth. I combined denim, leather, knits and lycra – materials that felt both nostalgic and expressive. This is an experimental phase for me as a designer, and I like keeping things open rather than fixed.

What’s next?

This summer I’m working on a multidisciplinary project as a costume designer with artists from Colombia and Finland. Long-term, I’m hoping to find an internship – Martine Rose or Marine Serre would be a dream. I see this collection as just the beginning. I want to claim space for women in the still male-dominated world of fashion and keep exploring where fashion and art meet.

@havukumpuannukka

Arttu Åfeldt
Untitled (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

The collection began by exploring how teenagers use fashion to express identity and emotion. I was drawn to the tension between technical outerwear and traditional tailoring, and how those two worlds might be merged. I also looked at brands that resonate with young people or have shaped menswear more broadly, using them as reference points to create shapes and details that feel hybrid, functional, and emotionally charged.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

The collection is built around heat- and pressure-based techniques like lamination, seam taping, and heat bonding. Denim was hand-laminated and laser-engraved; seams are externally taped, and pockets constructed without stitching using adhesive film and vinyl. Many pieces are covered in hotfix rhinestones – each one applied by hand to create shimmering surfaces that clash with the utility-led base garments.

What’s next?

I’d like to continue developing the techniques from this collection, potentially in collaboration with an outdoor brand. I’m particularly interested in finding functional but innovative approaches to garment-making, and in contributing something thoughtful and technically useful to the industry.

@arttu.afeldt

Axel August Zakarias Pasanen
“Blatant / Covert”

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection draws on supermodernism and speculative fiction to imagine a post-contemporary dystopia. It reflects on the “non-places” of modern life – spaces we pass through without truly inhabiting, guided by systems that often obscure the destination. I explored how garments can serve as tools for navigating these zones: to protect, to carry, to conceal, to anonymise. I’m interested in the tension between invisibility and visibility – being incognito in plain sight. Stealth can be blatant. Covert can be centre stage.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

The collection uses primarily technical and performance materials – water-resistant nylons, structural cottons – juxtaposed with traditional jersey and college fabrics. I worked with continuous filament insulation for its functional and sculptural qualities. Each garment began as a digital model using 3D pattern drafting and sculpting software, before being cut on a CNC fabric cutter and brought into reality using both 3D printing and traditional sewing. The result is a merging of digital precision with physical presence.

What’s next?

If there’s one thing this collection taught me, it’s that trying to speculate on the future is increasingly futile. So for now, I’m focusing on the present.

@axelzakarias

Camilla Naukkarinen
“Salonkikelpoinen” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection draws on my personal history – growing up in the backroom of my mother’s and grandmother’s hair salon, immersed in the culture of hairdressing without ever practicing it myself. I imagined what my own salon might look like if I had followed their path. Capes became a central form, sculpted on mannequins and bodies to explore shape variation and repetition. I also referenced the hair dyeing process, using puff paste pigment to evoke the tactile, layered feel of applying colour in a salon.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

To echo traditional salon capes, I worked with satin and nylon, keeping the connection to hairdressing environments. For knitwear, I used polyamide-based yarns that abstractly resembled hair. The colour palette came directly from my research, with each shade carrying symbolic meaning. Accessories incorporated recycled hair extensions – designed to be styled and shaped by the wearer, giving space for personal expression and transformation.

What’s next?

I want to deepen my technical and creative skills through hands-on work in professional environments – whether through independent projects, competitions, or collaborations. My goal is to keep learning, growing, and contributing meaningfully to wherever I land next.

@camillanow

LIAM GALLAGHER Spotted at Nobu, London, England. November 19th, 2008 full length jeans denim black leather jacket paisley scarf oasis CAP/CAS ©Bob Cass/Capital Pictures

Eemeli Niemi
“€urotrash” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection is built around sartorial characters that sit somewhere between trashy and classy. I’ve always been fascinated by how clothing can suggest wealth, interests, or personality – how we can construct entire identities through styling and silhouette. I love exploring how volumes interact and deepen the silhouette. Skateboarding culture has had a big influence on me since childhood, and I first got into sewing through a community college course with a few friends back in Porvoo. That course changed everything.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I mixed low-end materials – like fabrics found at flea markets – with higher-end ones such as handwoven textiles. That contrast between something cheap and something refined really excites me. A lot of the colours came to me intuitively. I was drawn to shiny, attention-grabbing surfaces, but balanced them with neutral tones so those shinier elements could stand out more. It’s all about play and contrast.

What’s next?

I’ll be continuing on to do my master’s degree, and hopefully also get an internship. I’d love the chance to see how my skills translate within a team – how I can contribute and collaborate. That hands-on experience would be really valuable.

@eemelieevert

Eetu Heikkinen
“HANG, FREEZE, CRASH – Video game and hardware glitches meet Victorian fashion” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection dives into the world of video games – specifically glitches and hardware errors – and how they distort worlds, objects, and characters. I imagined the real world as a broken physics engine and these garments as characters glitching out of code. The project explores a fictional space between history, contemporary life, and digital realms. To bring this concept alive, I reinterpreted the silhouettes and structural logic of Victorian fashion through the lens of video game malfunctions.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

The collection is highly material-driven – every textile was self-developed. I created industrial and semi-industrial knits, woven jacquards, and digital prints, all referencing documented glitch visuals from Reddit and YouTube. These were paired with structural tailoring materials like corsetry and crinoline. Glitches appear not just in the prints, but in how materials behave and how shapes collapse or distort. The palette leans into bright pinks, greens, and blues, grounded with black and white for balance.

What’s next?

I want to keep exploring the digital world through fashion, art history, and electronic music, with a focus on material design, tailoring, and structural experimentation. My aim is to land an internship and learn how my skills adapt within a professional team. I’m curious to see what I enjoy most in the industry and how my independent way of working might evolve in a new context.

@e2heikkinen

Elina Heilanen
“May Peace Find Me on This Side of Sleep” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

The blurred line between sleep and wakefulness. I have narcolepsy, so I’m interested in how we value sleep, yet place rigid boundaries on when and where it’s socially acceptable. I imagined a character who carries part of their bed with them – because for someone like me, sleep and wakefulness aren’t clearly separate states. I wanted to reflect that experience through both the concept and construction of the collection.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I always begin with materials and let them lead me toward silhouette. This time, I experimented with Van Dyke printing – a 19th-century photographic process – on textiles. It requires near-total darkness, which mirrored the lack of control I often feel with sleep disorders. All the prints started as meticulously hand-drawn illustrations, which I then translated into engraved leather, woven textiles, and other formats. I enjoy the balance between control and unpredictability – it’s always a collaboration with the material.

What’s next?

Endless glory and fortune – or at least a few internships and job applications. Now that I better understand what I can offer, I’m excited to find out what I can receive in return. I hope to keep working with materials and colour, and also explore archives and artistic research. But first, a long summer… and many good naps.

@elinaheilanen

Elisa Nicoloso
“UN(SUIT)ED” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

The relationship with my partner is at the heart of this collection. Through him, I encountered a kind of masculinity that is gentle, altruistic, and emotionally complex. While we often seem to share the same level of “femininity”, his masculinity remains intact – just redefined. This inspired me to reimagine Italian men’s style, subverting its traditional codes in favour of something more nuanced and emotionally rich. “UN(SUIT)ED” reflects on how clothing can embody a new kind of masculinity – elegant, tender, and progressive – offering an alternative vision of gender expression rooted in equality.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

Drawing from the fine wool suits of the Italian bourgeois wardrobe, I worked primarily with deadstock materials, transforming them through craft. I broke down traditional pinstripes and checks using a meticulous needle-felting technique, while fluid silks were enhanced with vibrant natural dyes and advanced printing methods. The result is a textural and visual dialogue between heritage and innovation – masculine tailoring disrupted and softened, reimagined through colour and handwork.

What’s next?

I plan to return to Italy, where I can merge my cultural roots with everything I’ve learned abroad. I’m eager to join a menswear design studio that values thoughtful construction and creative dialogue. Long-term, I hope to build a practice grounded in technical precision and conceptual experimentation – creating garments that last, matter, and redefine norms.

@sourlyblond

Ilari Kokkola
“Missing You (teitä ikävöiden)” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

In my BA graduate collection, I’ve studied innocence and identity, and the relationship between childhood and adulthood in a queer context. I reflected on how growing up gay in a heteronormative environment distorted my self-image and forced me to shield myself from the outside world. The collection interprets that imagined shield – of identity and innocence – through fashion. It’s a deeply personal project about protection, vulnerability, and reclaiming what was once hidden.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

The themes of shielding, protection, and innocence are explored through tens of thousands of handmade or applied metal rings, feathers, and pearls. I wanted these materials to reflect how that shield felt in childhood: heavy, hard, sharp, sometimes uncomfortable – but still containing grace and fragility. Nearly every material was handcrafted. Making them myself helped me stay connected to the personal nature of the work. It wasn’t a pleasurable process – it felt more like a trance of frustration and anger, but it created an undeniable bond with the pieces.

What’s next?

I feel like this collection is just the beginning. It feels like I’ve only scratched the surface of something much deeper that has yet to fully emerge. I’m looking forward to continuing my artistic process and seeing where it takes me.

@ilarikokkola

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Katariina Salmela
“Everybody Wants This: Exploring the Myth and Magic of Fashion” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

The collection explores the myth and magic of fashion through an Alice in Wonderland–inspired narrative. A curious protagonist follows a white rabbit and enters the surreal world of fashion – often depicted as glamorous, exclusive, and extraordinary. Influenced by my previous sociology studies and Bourdieu’s theory of fields and capital, I examined portrayals of the fashion industry in popular culture. These were then reimagined into a lineup of archetypal characters that question hierarchies, visibility, and the construction of taste.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

Draping, sculptural silhouettes, and an embrace of visual abundance guided my process. Material and colour distinctions reflect the hierarchical roles of the characters: flowy silks evoke innocence and whimsy, while structured tailoring and wool signal authority and control. I used fabrics to explore how garments can shift a wearer’s habitus – inviting them into different roles, identities, and forms of expression within fashion’s performative theatre.

What’s next?

I’m currently seeking internship or design job opportunities to gain hands-on industry experience and deepen my practical knowledge. In the longer term, I plan to pursue an MA in Fashion.

@kat.fi.sh

Konsta Eskola
“Runway Ready” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

The collection draws inspiration from airline uniform dress codes and the complex relationship between uniforms and their wearers. My experience working as a cabin crew member, along with a deep interest in second-hand materials, shaped this project. I explored questions like: Who holds the power? Who dresses whom, how, and why? Airline uniforms are performative garments – they grant authority but also enforce conformity. This paradox, where clothing empowers and restricts simultaneously, became the central thread in my work.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

All textiles were sourced from Finnair’s used uniform pieces, which I deconstructed and reworked. I applied surface treatments and bonding techniques to give the fabrics a stiff, glossy finish – reimagining the structured polish of airline uniforms. Second-hand leather also features, alongside handcrafted aluminium accessories. I made a conscious effort to minimise waste, with every scrap of aluminium repurposed into buttons or other details. Optimising materials was central to my approach, from pattern design to final construction.

What’s next?

I’m looking to build on these ideas through hands-on experience in fashion and design. I enjoy working with both soft and hard materials, and I want to continue exploring their interaction. I’m particularly interested in circular design and repurposing – finding creative ways to bring new life to old materials – and I hope to deepen my expertise in this area within a professional context.

@konstaeskola

Krista Virtanen
“Grey Market” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This material-driven collection explores aging, impermanence, and transformation through the lived experiences of older women. It reflects how the body and spirit adapt under societal expectations, gender roles, and personal growth. Inspired by the fleeting nature of beauty, the collection embraces the natural cycles of life – growth, decay, and renewal. Each garment honours resilience, care, and the wisdom carried in aging, blending themes of regeneration with the emotional depth of lived experience.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I used bio-based and biodegradable materials developed in the lab, combined with silk organza, recycled glass, and natural dyes derived from green and black tea. A subdued palette of greys and blacks echoes the themes of impermanence and age. Techniques include sculptural construction, hand-dyeing, and intricate handcrafting. The result is a tactile, layered collection that embraces slow transformation, highlighting the beauty of imperfection and care.

What’s next?

I’ll continue working with renewable materials and focus on creating change through practice. I’m currently involved in several projects in Finland that I plan to complete by the end of the year. In the spring, I’m considering going abroad to explore new opportunities – particularly through artist residencies that allow for deeper material exploration and collaborative research.

@kristavirtanendesign

Kristín Ferrell
“Woven in Stone, Frozen in Time” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection is rooted in folklore, childhood memories, and the marble sculptures of the Louvre. It began with a story my father once told me about a troll’s flute stone – something that, as a child, confirmed my belief in trolls and sparked my fascination with the space between memory and imagination. At its core is a dialogue between fabric and garment: the fabric embodies memory, the garment brings it into reality. Together, they explore the balance between what is remembered and what is real.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I developed the garments and textiles side by side, designing fabric through weaving while draping to shape the silhouettes. The placement of woven structures was informed by the flow of the garment, and vice versa. I worked mainly with wool and viscose – materials that respond differently when washed, with wool shrinking and viscose remaining stable – to create natural textures and form. The colour palette is drawn from photos I took last summer while travelling through Iceland’s countryside, capturing the soft tones of the landscape.

What’s next?

I’m planning to move to Paris to (hopefully) work in fashion and soak up all the inspiration the city throws my way. I’m ready to learn, create, and enjoy the ride.

@ferrellkristin

Laura Balocco
“Never One Without the Other – Exploring the Making of a Fashion Collection Born from Engagement” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This project investigates interconnection and bodily perception through a decolonial lens, challenging dominant aesthetic narratives. Rather than beginning with visual research, I adopted a participatory process: a series of workshops with dancers and performers who improvised movements using secondhand textiles. Their gestures and shared reflections guided my design decisions, shaping yarn choices, patterns, colours, and forms. By stepping back from my usual authorship, I allowed the collection to emerge from collective movement and dialogue, aiming to honour multiple coexisting realities through a more intuitive and embodied design process.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

The resulting knitwear collection comprises six modular pieces intended as open, wearable forms –designed to be activated by movement rather than worn in a fixed way. In a final performance, two dancers explored the garments improvisationally, revealing their fluid potential. Synthetic yarns with deliberately “awful” tactile qualities contrast with soft, fluffy wools, translating workshop participants’ sensory feedback. A vibrant palette and playful patterns express the energy of the sessions, with stripes and ribs accentuating body movement. Techniques include heavy jacquards, rib knits, and delicate devoré, balancing tension between fragility and structure.

What’s next?

Though this project sits outside conventional collection-making, I believe its process has strong relevance within the fashion system. I see it as a beginning – a conceptual prototype of participatory design. Moving forward, I plan to deepen this methodology, analysing the material gathered and expanding it into further garment development. Our bodies are powerful sources of knowledge, and I want to keep exploring how intuitive movement and collaboration can reshape the way we design clothes – more inclusively, expressively, and experientially.

@laurabalocco

Marine Puumala
“I have lost my marbles”: madness, art and women (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection is rooted in creative blocks, their subconscious origins, and the pursuit of freedom under the gender binary. While we often talk about how gender identity affects dressing, we rarely ask how it shapes the design process itself. If gender is a performance, does it also influence how designers interact with ideas, how receptive they are to inspiration? I’m interested in the psychology of making –how subconscious beliefs shape our perception of possibility and creative behaviour.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I selected deadstock and secondhand materials intuitively, focusing on tension and contrast in texture, colour and drape. Influenced by the methodologies of women artists in Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism, I experimented with automatism and abstraction. The recurring “doughnut” shapes emerged subconsciously and became vessels for exploring garments and creative limitations. Techniques include tailoring, deconstruction, experimental draping, sublimation trompe l’oeil, and digital printing.

What’s next?

I want to keep exploring these themes through both fashion and art. This project grew from a personal search for a psychologically sustainable creative practice. It’s been about navigating the tension between freedom and mental health, passivity and spontaneity. The conversations and resonance this work has sparked feel deeply meaningful, and I’m excited to continue questioning, exploring, and creating from this space.

@extraultramarine

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Markus Anttonen
“Sensation of Cold”

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection reflects on garments as elemental forms of shelter. Developed during a series of winter evening walks, it is rooted in the bodily experience of cold – the way it changes posture, movement, and awareness. Rather than focusing on visual aesthetics, I concentrated on the sensations of wearing clothes in freezing temperatures. Layers of wool became not just insulation but a source of comfort. The collection responds to this somatic memory, observing how cold shapes the body and the protective role of clothing.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I selected materials for their tactile warmth and durability in harsh weather. A wide range of wools – including angora and alpaca – feature throughout. The colour palette is intentionally muted, allowing the texture and form to take focus. I combined traditional draping with digital pattern-making using CLO3D to create garments that balance sensitivity and precision.

What’s next?

I plan to keep making garments, apply to international competitions, and look for opportunities to work within the fashion industry.

@markus.anttonen

Miska Kettu
“Busy Bees” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

In a future where bees have vanished and ecosystems collapse, humanity must rebuild itself around collective function – mirroring the hive. Busy Bees imagines garments as tools, each reflecting a societal role within a post-bee city: guards, foragers, nurses, cleaners. Inspired by the structure of beehives, the collection explores how fashion can express utility, cooperation, and adaptation. It’s a vision of a speculative future where survival depends on the contribution of every individual, and where clothing becomes a reflection of collective resilience.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

Techniques include artisanal leatherwork, jacquard weaving, leather moulding, embroidery, and glass cutting. The palette channels urban futurism – black, white, grey, and beige – punctuated with electric blue and vivid red. These bright contrasts add tension and urgency to utilitarian silhouettes. The materials and colour choices reflect a dystopian environment while still offering a sense of craft and purpose.

What’s next?

Make more fashion.

@miskakettu

Nea Haasnoot
“Onnenkalut” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

Onnenkalut is a collection of fragments from different contexts, rearranged to evoke a sense of missing presence. It centres on materiality and reflects on emotional value as a factor in sustainability. I looked at the 1960s – the rise of plastic, disposability, and the shift of clothing into consumer goods – and reprocessed that era through a Finnish lens, where coexistence with nature is layered with human-made interventions. Each object becomes a kind of lucky charm: a sentimental artefact tied to an unknown user, capturing the poetics of industrial aesthetics and the nostalgia of touch.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I repurposed hand-weaving, industrial weaving, knitting, and traditional upholstery techniques into contemporary forms. Much of the weft in the hand-woven pieces is post-consumer plastic. Recycled materials were essential to the concept. The colour palette draws from the collision of bright and dim – something I associate with both the 1960s and the tension between synthetic and natural worlds.

What’s next?

During my thesis, I realised I’m more drawn to concept design within fashion than conventional garment making. Textile design has become a clear strength, and I’m particularly inspired by unconventional and artistic approaches in that field. I hope to keep exploring contemporary narratives through material and form.

@neahaasnoot

Niklas Järvi
“Dressed Performance” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection is rooted in traditional garments worn by fly fishers and sailors, focusing on their resourcefulness and connection to nature. The starting point was storytelling – particularly memories of fishing with my grandfather. His legacy, and the values we shared, shaped both the emotional and material direction of the work. The aim was to merge tradition, function, and artistic expression, while exploring how natural materials can be used to create garments that are water-resistant, durable, and grounded in lived experience.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

I worked primarily with natural materials: wool, alpaca, wild silk, leather, cotton, linen, and natural rubber – sourced through collaborations with small-scale producers. Inspired by fly-tying traditions, the colour palette combines earthy tones with subtle vibrancy. Techniques include oil-finishing linen and cotton using a linseed oil and tar blend, weaving jacquard fabrics from fishing yarn, and knitting whole garments using hand-developed yarn. I also handmade shoes and headwear to reflect the collection’s functional and performative core.

What’s next?

This process reinforced my commitment to material-driven design and traditional craft. I want to continue working in slow fashion, collaborating with individuals and communities who share values around sustainability, storytelling, and care.

@niklas.jrvi

Nilla Heikkilä
“Natural Breeding Machine” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection stems from my personal experience of body dysmorphia and inhabiting a female body in a political climate that seeks to control it. I wanted to take a stand for bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. The silhouettes and materials are influenced by body horror films, history, and the grotesque. Using traditional corsetry and padding, I distorted the body’s form – not to flatter but to trap, to confront. These sculptural, uncomfortable shapes reflect both internal and external pressures placed on women’s bodies.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I used techniques that reference the body directly. Leather was wet-moulded, padded, and boned to create unnatural protrusions. Fur-like textures were woven from old stockings – symbols of the reductive roles women are assigned: caretaker, seductress, mother – cut apart and melted together. A knitted surface, resembling torn skin with flesh pushing through, was merged with hollow silhouettes to explore themes of absence and emptiness. The materials were chosen for their visceral symbolism and emotional weight.

What’s next?

I’m currently building my voice and vision as both designer and artist. My goal is to create work that resonates with a community – people who want to express themselves boldly and truthfully. My practice is a form of activism: it holds space for complexity, contradiction, and vulnerability. I believe beauty can carry difficult things. Whether independently or within a like-minded brand, I want to keep exploring that truth.

@nillaheikkila

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Oliver O Saarinen
“T-shirt, T-shirt, Construction yard” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

The idea started in a grocery store late at night – watching how people dress in a mix of garments from all seasons, often with a kind of casual indifference. I built the research around personal observations from everyday life in Helsinki: its architecture, weather, history, and people. The goal was to design garments by the user, for the user – everyday clothes rooted in real life. I wanted the pieces to feel honest and familiar, like something pulled from the front of your closet on your way out the door.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I worked with wool, sportswear fabrics, denim, college jersey, and t-shirt cotton. A key material was bonded and layered t-shirt cotton, which I used to create an outdoor jacket – transforming something ordinary into something new. The colour palette draws from Helsinki’s natural landscape and worn architecture, with muted browns, greens, and blues punctuated by bright hits of red, yellow, and orange. I aimed for a washed finish across materials to create a sense of lived-in wearability.

What’s next?

This process gave me a lot of clarity and motivation. I want to continue developing my own design language, ideally through an internship where I can gain hands-on experience in the industry. For me, the best way to learn is by doing. I’m excited to keep evolving before eventually returning to do my master’s.

@saarineno

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Otto Siponen
“Dupes” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection explores packaging – its seals, closures, and surfaces – as a system for garment construction. I became interested in methods of enclosing the body, using techniques from industrial manufacturing like ultrasonic sewing to reframe garments as containers: vessels for preservation, bodies as manufactured goods. Rather than expressing something personal or profound, I’m drawn to things that feel empty – luxurious but disposable. There’s a detachment in how I observe the world that gives me freedom to assign new meaning to banal or surface-level aesthetics.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

The collection was built through an intuitive play between abstraction and structure. I used ultrasonic welding – a method from packaging production – as a primary technique. Silhouettes emerged through acts of wrapping, sealing, and layering, like sketching with Minigrip bags or pink silk paper. Materials were chosen for their surface appeal and disposability, echoing the tension between desire and detachment.

What’s next?

I’m interested in collaborating across disciplines and expanding my work beyond fashion. I want to explore new processes and contexts – whether in art, design, or something else entirely.

@fagercrombieandbitch

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Paavo Hemmi
“Memory wears” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

The collection is rooted in personal memory, sensory experience, and the emotional relationship between body and garment. Using autoethnographic reflection and moments from daily life, I translated fleeting feelings into physical form. The concept of clothing as a “uniform of experience” shaped the silhouettes, drawing from utilitarian archetypes like workwear and military garments. Each piece serves as both a tactile memory and a functional object.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I worked with natural materials – wool, leather, silk, and cotton – emphasising tactility and emotional resonance. The earthy palette reflects the dominant colours tied to specific memories. Techniques include leather manipulation, hand knitting, structural exploration, and carefully considered hand-finished details to honour the personal nature of the work.

What’s next?

Graduating and continuing to build a practice – especially through developing our own brand.

@paavohemmi

Peik Westerlund
“Tides of Heritage” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

Inspired by people who live their labour – fishermen, lighthouse keepers, sailors – this collection reflects resilience, repair, and deeply worn beauty. Rooted in the rugged Finnish archipelago, it explores the lives, culture, and history of coastal communities. Archival research into historical workwear, naval uniforms, and traditional sails informed the silhouettes and materials, fusing the raw essence of the sea with a distinctly modern sensibility.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

Natural fibres like wool, linen, and cotton formed the base, alongside leather, upcycled fur, and technical fabrics. I experimented with felting wool into sculptural shapes and developed a sail-inspired textile from organza, glass fibre net, and liquid latex. Technical ripstop nylon was heat-formed into wrinkled textures using Shibori techniques. Throughout the collection, heavy-duty metal hardware anchors leather and wool pieces – echoing the toughness and adaptability of garments made for the sea.

What’s next?

Dive deeper, learn more, do more. The best part of learning new things is realising how much more there is to explore.

@peik.westerlund

Selma Mataich
“Embodying Objects” (BA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

Embodying Objects explores the boundaries of what constitutes a garment, using fashion as a tool for artistic inquiry. My collection approaches dressing as a performative act, asking: what do we wear consciously, and what unconsciously? The theme of touch is central – each piece can only be worn by the active presence of the wearer’s hands. This intimacy informs both the concept and construction, resulting in wearable sculptures that blend fashion and visual art. The project investigates the edges of clothing as definition, experience, and gesture.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

My process is intuitive, grounded in material exploration and shaped by observation. Each look was inspired by an object – a pin screen, a portrait, a basket, a letter, and hair – leading to experiments with everything from Multiweave techniques to combining glass with soft materials. I played with illusion, scale, and texture, creating pieces from everyday materials like paper. Some garments appear only as a “portrait” of a dress. The collection is diverse in method but unified through its tactile, process-led spirit.

What’s next?

This collection still feels unfinished – it’s an ongoing experiment I want to keep developing, at least until a new door opens.

@selmataich

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Sophia Linden
“Exposed” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection emerged from a multidisciplinary collaboration with lens-based artist Elina Brotherus, whose self-portraits created for the project became a central inspiration. It also draws from the Venturo house (1971) by architect Matti Suuronen and the visual language of pop art. The site-specific setting of the Venturo house – with its minimalist, postmodern aesthetic – shaped the mood and materiality of the collection. The work explores how fashion, textiles, and photography can intersect to form new artistic expressions, and reflects on what meaning is generated, lost, or transformed when mediums collide.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

Brotherus’s photographs were translated into woven, knitted, and printed textiles through experimental processes. These include intricate jacquards, custom knits, and textural fabrics combining wool, mohair, and monofilament yarns. The collection’s minimal silhouettes are designed to foreground the textiles and surface qualities. Most materials were upcycled or sourced from deadstock and vintage – breathing new life into leftover yarns, fabrics, and accessories.

What’s next?

I hope to keep working on interdisciplinary projects that merge art, textiles, and fashion. Elina and I also plan to continue our artistic collaboration, expanding this dialogue between photography and garment-making into new territories.

@sophialinden

 

Tilda Wallius
“Finders Keepers” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection is inspired by the overlooked beauty in discarded objects and urban waste culture. It reflects on inner conflict, abandonment, transformation, and the pain of existing in an unfit body. Influenced by dumpster diving and the aesthetics of things people leave behind, the pieces mimic found forms and capture the tension between value and neglect. Things don’t have to disappear just because they don’t fit – instead, I bring them to light.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

I worked with salvaged textiles, offcuts, and waste-sourced materials from donation bins, friends, and family. The colour palette emerged naturally: dusty tones, faded brights, aged neutrals. Techniques include sculptural draping, raw finishing, and experimental layering. I stiffened materials using felt, plastic, cardboard, food waste shells, and even staples. Everything was handsewn, rejecting industrial techniques as a tribute to the working-class side of my family and the tradition of handcrafting I grew up with. Working slowly by hand gave space to connect emotionally with each piece, treating the garment as a shared personal space.

What’s next?

I want to continue exploring sustainability and emotional storytelling through collaborative projects. I’m especially drawn to slow, process-focused practices – where making becomes a space for discovery. I hope to find like-minded people who share that curiosity. This collection helped me understand how I work best: intuitively, hands-on, and in deep dialogue with materials. I can’t wait to start the next thing. I’m going to do more.

@tildawallius

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Vanessa Agostini
“Noticing in the Forest” (MA)

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

Noticing in the Forest explores the relationship between sensorial experience and sustainability through a collaborative process with nature. By working in and with the forest, I sought to challenge the pace and values of the fashion industry. The collection confronts fast fashion’s temporalities with the slower rhythms of nature, asking whether garments designed this way can foster deeper care and commitment. It opens a dialogue on material value, overconsumption, and the role of conscious design in shaping more sustainable futures.

What materials, colours and techniques did you use?

Material development began through hand weaving to capture the forest’s textures, sounds, and smells. Sensorial memories were translated into hand-printed textiles, woven jacquards, and textured knits. I used discarded fabrics from Italian weaving mills and factories, treating flaws as creative prompts – stains were repeated into patterns, holes redirected pattern making. Each element of the process was rooted in adaptation and experimentation, resulting in garments that respond to both the material and the body.

What’s next?

After taking time to rest and reflect, I plan to reconnect with the garments – observing how they behave through wear and what they might teach me. I want to channel my creativity into meaningful, collaborative work that contributes to a more conscious fashion system, grounded in care for people, products, and the environment.

@agostinivanessa

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Xuefei Shi
“Wearable Instrument – An intimate dialogue between body, sound, and garment”

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection is inspired by the idea of the body as an instrument – reconnecting movement, sound, and touch in a digital age. It responds to the sensory disconnect of screen-based music creation and aims to restore physicality and emotional engagement through wearable sound. Influences include performance art, textile innovation, and the democratisation of creative tools.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

The collection features knitted, stretch-responsive sensors made from resistive yarns, integrated using tailored textile structures. These enable real-time sound interaction through body movement. A custom bag houses the speaker, power source, and microprocessor. Red wire channels act as both function and form. The palette is minimalist – neutral tones with red highlights – to emphasise the technical components. Techniques combine textile engineering, electronics, and performative design.

What’s next?

Next, I’ll focus on refining sensor accuracy, developing wireless modules, and expanding the project with new wearable instruments. I aim to collaborate with sound artists and disability-inclusive design experts to broaden access. Long-term, the goal is to create a platform for intuitive, embodied musical expression.

@itsfei.s

Credits

Words by Jorinde Croese

Runway photographs by Kristian Presnal

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