Read Aalto ARTS News article

The winning prize is 50,000 Danish kroner (ca. 6 700 euro), a study trip to UEDA College of Fashion in Osaka, Japan and a unique trophy created by artist Karl Monies. Koivula was also awarded a place in the upcoming exhibition ‘Nordic Fashion Now: Knitwear and Print’ at the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg, together with finalist Sasha Heinsaar from The Swedish School of Textiles in Sweden.

In addition, a paid internship in Paris at MM6 Margiela was awarded to Kaapo Sinervo from the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture.

Among the ten designer finalists this season were three graduates from Aalto University: Hanna Hanhela, Tuuli-Tytti Koivula, Kaapo Sinervo – together with other finalists Hedvig Ljungström, Marie-Louise Guldbæk Andersen, Desirée Bjurinder Fritzon, Elma Leminen, Julie Lundgaard Christophersen, Samuel Westerberg and Sasha Heinsaar.

See more:

Aalto Fashion – Tuuli-Tytti Koivula’s collection in Näytös 22

Alpha Fashion Competition

This exhibition continues the series DIALOGUES, presenting textiles as a medium for future solutions. DIALOGUES launched in New York in November 2022 with a joint exhibition and seminar by Aalto University and Parsons – The New School.

The exhibition presents creative design work, artistic exploration, material solutions and design pedagogy demonstrating the multitude of textile work across disciplines at Aalto University. DIALOGUES – Creating New Textile Futures at Dipoli Gallery features work from Aalto ARTS, Aalto SCI, Aalto CHEM, Aalto ENG and Aalto ELEC.

See the virtual exhibition

Exhibitors: Nora Bremer, Sven Bossuyt, You-Chia Chen, Elisa Defossez, Venla Elonsalo, Francesco Furlan, Ramyah Gowrishankar, Sofía Guridi, Leonardo Hidalgo Uribe, Helmiina Hirviniemi, Yun-Jung Hsieh, Leevi Ikäheimo, Iines Jakovlev, Pia Johansson, Jarno Kettunen, Yoonsik Kim, Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen, Josh Krute, Praejeen Kunawong, Miisa Lehto & Samu Salovaara, Anna-Mari Leppisaari, Helmi Liikanen, Mithila Mohan, Hilda Niemelä, Aino Ojala, Tuulikki Peltonen, Emmi Pouta, Maarit Salolainen, Laura Rusanen, Ulla Vahteri

Ioncell / Lindström towel project knit: Elina Onkinen, Kasia Gorniak; Sun-powered Textiles / Moiré project: Zuzana Zmatekova, Janne Halme, Elina Ilén; BioColour / Natural Indigo project: Arttu Åfeldt, Kirsi Niinimäki, Maija Fagerlund, CHEMARTS; Wearable systems Lab: Xiao Yu, Aalto University Bioinnovation center; Aalto University research groups: Fashion/Textile Futures, Mobile Cloud Computing Multifunctional Materials Design; Kuura/Metsä Group

Dialogues Exhibition Team
Concept: Maarit Salolainen
Curation: Maarit Salolainen, Anna-Mari Leppisaari and Maija Fagerlund
Production: Nora Bremer
Exhibition design: Hanna Anonen
Graphic design: Aino Salonen
Dipoli Gallery Curator: Edel O’ Reilly

textiles.aalto.fi

@aaltotextiles

Exhibition Dates: 28.11.2022-28.02.2023

Mon-Thu: 8:00–20:00 / Fri: 8:00–18:00 / Sat-Sun: Closed

Dipoli Gallery, Otakaari 24, 02150 Espoo / Aalto University

Video: Aino Salonen

Read more:

Aalto University News – Dialogues exhibition 23.11.2022

Students from Aalto University in Hyères fashion competition finals

Juha Vehmaanperä MA student

Sini Saavala MA student – L’Atelier des Matières Prize

Jenny Hytönen BA alumni – Grand prize and Audience Award

Jenny Hytönen’s winning collection called “Untitled” is based on a contrast of sensitivity and roughness: it is a combination of crystal-embroidered, transparent mesh fabrics and heavily riveted leather.

The collection was topped by the “Cyborg,” which featured a bridal veil incorporating 25,000 glass beads hand placed during the knitting process, and an LED bodysuit with a heart sensor that materialized the wearer’s heartbeat with pulsating lights.

Glenn Martens, Chairman of the Jury of the Hyères Fashion Competition and Creative Director of Y/Project and Diesel, praised Hytönen’s collection in Women’s wear daily magazine for “a perfect design, but one that showed extreme creativity”.

Jenny Hytönen

Hytönen is a fashion designer who graduated from Aalto University with a major in fashion and is currently interning with Belgian designer Olivier Theyskens in Paris. Last year, her collection won the Aalto University’s Näytös21 Award, the jury describing the collection as impressive, balanced and mature.

In Hyères, Hytönen will receive a €20 000 grant from fashion house Chanel and fashion trade fair organiser Première Vision, as well as the opportunity to create capsule collections for ready-to-wear brand Icicle and Parisian department store Galeries Lafayette.

Sini Saavala

In addition to Hytönen, the final of the fashion competition saw also an MA sudent Sini Saavala and recent graduate Juha Vehmaanperä from Aalto University’s major in fashion. Saavala won the L’Atelier des Matières prize with her “Unwearable” collection. She used 90% recycled materials, such as sweaty cotton undershirts and vintage underwear dyed in the era. This is the first time the prize has been awarded in Hyères and it highlights the importance of recycling.

Read more

Aalto University News – Jenny Hytönen wins the Hyères International Fashion Competition

As the textile and fashion industries are undergoing significant turmoil, the urgent need for solutions to critical challenges, from overproduction, irresponsible waste, and supply chain management to the exhaustive use of natural resources, grows greater.

The new generation of textile and fashion designers is crucial to unlocking these challenges, together with the introduction of groundbreaking novel processes and material innovations that offer smart, circular alternatives for the materials in use today.

DIALOGUES is a transatlantic showcase of creative design work, material solutions and design pedagogy offering a platform for cross-sectoral dialogue on textile futures across borders. The exhibition and seminar take place in New York City from November 2nd to 6th as part of the New York Textile Month 2022.

The exhibition presents an interplay between the contemporary textile and fashion design practices by master’s students of Fashion and Textile Design at Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture in Finland and MFA Textiles Programme at Parsons in the United States. The seminar connects creatives, educators, innovators, and leaders from Finland and the US to reimagine the landscape of tomorrow’s textiles and fashion, driving a shared dialogue spanning over continents and into the future.

The projects from Aalto University include a research-driven project on compression textiles used in healthcare, a study on natural dyes that originate from food waste, and the dialogue between light-emitting technology and textiles, combining material science and traditional weaving.

“Aalto University with its six schools forms a multidisciplinary environment, which sets the scene for the student’s studies. The focus of the curation is on practice-led research and creative future solutions. Textile thinking and studio pedagogy, highlighted by the newly published book Interwoven – Exploring Mate-rials and Structures, stand at the forefront of this exhibition, as they are the base for textile design studies at Aalto. We are delighted to share our textile stories with the MFA Textiles of Parsons in this New York Textile Month event. New innovations for textile futures come from shared passion, creative dialogues and interaction.” notes Maarit Salolainen, head of the Master’s in Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design at Aalto University.

DIALOGUES is presented by Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Parsons School of Design, The Consulate General of Finland in New York, The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York, Business Finland, and Juni Communication, in collaboration with New York Textile Month.

Aalto Students taking part in the exhibition:

Aino Ojala, Elisa Defossez, Francesco Furlan, Jarno Kettunen, Laura Rusanen, Leevi Ikäheimo, Leonardo Hidalgo Uribe, Mithila Mohan, Nora Bremer, Praejeen Kunawong, Sofía Guridi, Ulla Vahteri, Yoonsik Kim, You-Chia Chen

See more:

NY Textile Month – DIALOGUES

Aalto Textiles Instagram

DIALOGUES Press Release

Interwoven – Exploring Materials and Structures is a joyous exploration into woven textile design. It dissects woven structures along with the fibres and yarns used to make them, giving exceptional insight into the world of fabrics.

Interwoven outlines how the manifold history of textiles has been intertwined with human innovation from prehistoric twining to the invention of the binary code, through to today’s new material discoveries and urgent quest for sustainability. By investigating the past and present of textiles, and narrating their cross-cultural roles, meanings and influences, Interwoven illustrates how textiles have been used to tell human stories throughout the ages.

The book introduces a new pedagogical method for woven textile design studies, inviting the reader to take a seat at the looms to weave their own stories. Detailed instructions for creating textiles, ranging from fibres and yarns to basic weaves, multi-layered constructions and digital jacquard design, are interspersed by emotionally rich, tactile textile stories by Aalto ARTS design students. The way this book interweaves technical knowledge, artistic expression and storytelling makes it a unique guide on the path to mastering textile design.

This book weaves the warp of wisdom and the weft of wonder into a fabric of fascinating complexity. Displaying a burst of creativity coupled with a sense of functionality it shows a deep respect for our pummeled planet.

From pre-historic constructions to futuristic applications, this book demonstrates the intelligence of weaving.

Lidewij Edelkoort

Aalto University introduces “textile thinking” pedagogy. Professor Maarit Salolainen explains how textile knowledge is needed in many different fields.

Buy the book

Buy the book from Aalto Shop

Textile and print design is facing a new era. Technological developments are constantly opening up new possibilities, and Aalto University fashion and textile design students are increasingly using digital textile printing to design printed fabrics and products for fashion and interior design. This is one of the reasons why textile printer manufacturer Epson has been collaborating with Aalto University in the field of digital textile printing since 2019.

This spring, Epson and Aalto University organised an Epson Textile Print competition in conjunction with the Advanced Textile Workshop courses for Master’s degree students, where students used Epson’s textile printers.

The competition kicked off with a two-day masterclass workshop led by Daniel Henry, a Belgian textile designer visiting Aalto University. He is a founder of Daniel Henry Studio and an internationally renowned designer who works with several fashion houses. The project was led by Anna-Mari Leppisaari, Lecturer in Textile Design at Aalto University.

The competition and winners

Students were tasked with designing a collection of at least four fabrics, creatively combining woven, knitted or otherwise modified print bases for digital printing on an Epson direct-to-garment DTG or sublimation printer.

The jury unanimously selected the collection of Nour Ainasoja, a student in the Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design Master’s programme, as the winner of the Epson Textile Print competition.

The jury also awarded a special mention to Sanna Ahonen, a student in the Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design Master’s programme, and Takako Akimoto, a student in the Textiles, Material and Structure minor, for their high-quality work, which creatively combined both print fabric design and woven fabrics.

Read the whole article

What is the future of digital textile printing? on Aalto University News

The annual awards were granted to the graduates. Find all the awards and the winners below:

Näytös 22 Award: Hanna-Lotta Hanhela

Jury:

Siru Juntunen Menswear Designer at GIVENCHY
Caroline Pretterebner Senior Designer at RAF SIMONS
Siiri Raasakka, Senior Knitwear Designer at Burberry

Suomen Tekstiili ja Muoti award: Hanna-Lotta Hanhela

Jury:
José Teunissen, Dean, School of Design and Technology, London School of Fashion (chair of the jury)
Anne-Mari Pahkala, Head of Design, Samuji
Katariina Lamberg, Creative Director, Ahonen & Lamberg
Katriina Virtanen, CEO, Voglia
Marja-Liisa Niinikoski, Managing Director, Finnish Textile & Fashion

Marimekko Award: (shared) Hanna-Lotta Hanhela, Pyry Komsi

Jury:

Satu Maaranen, Marimekko

Fiskars Award: Pyry Rämö

Jury:
Vesa Kemppainen
Mari Rouvi
Petra Vallila

A look from Hanna-Lotta Hanhela’s MA-collection,
photo: Sofia Okkonen

Pyry Komsi’s BA-collection look,
photo: Sofia Okkonen

Pyry Rämö’s BA-collection look,
photo: Sofia Okkonen

Congratulations to all winners and all the graduates!

See more

Aalto Fashion Website – Collection photos and Näytös video 

Aalto Fashion Instagram

More about Aalto University’s Fashion education on Aalto ARTS website – Limitless, inexhaustible article by Sini Koskimies

PatternLab 22 group is a multidisciplinary group with 10 designers:

Master’s Programme in Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design: Ione Rawlins, Sanna Ahonen, Edith Kankkunen, Anna Poikonen, Tuulikki Peltonen, Aida Matuseviciute, Praejeen Kunawong

Master’s Programme in Visual Communication Design: Sabina Friman, Aino Salonen, Saara Obele

Print by Aida Matuseviciute/PatternLab

The new record came as a surprise to Maarit Salolainen, professor of textile design and director of the FaCT Master’s programme, who runs the annual pattern design course and describes the current group as “absolutely exceptional”.

In previous years, PatternLab has participated in sales events abroad. This time, travel was hampered by restrictions: for example, Europe’s biggest textile fair Heimtextil was not held this time.

Students have been looking for new, creative ways to organise events and approach customers. Remote access made it possible to meet regardless of the covid situation.

“Maybe the pandemic encouraged the students even more, and made them sell a lot outside the fair”, says the Salolainen.

One key factor, however, behind the success, was the team’s genuinely active, enthusiastic and diligent sales work.

The students are a multidisciplinary group, each bringing their own expertise to the table. This has also been reflected in the marketing and the way companies have been approached.

“There have been some outright sales gurus in our group. This has certainly contributed to the fact that the sales work has been done in a smooth manner and companies have been actively contacted”, says course student Edith Kankkunen.

“And with courage!”, adds her fellow student Anna Poikonen.

Print by Ione Rawlins/PatternLab

Read more:

Aalto University News – The original article 9.5.2022

PatternLab’s Website

Designers’ Nest Finalists:

Boram Yoo – FaCT graduate, The Designers’ Nest Award Winner

Joona Rautiainen  – FaCT

Leevi Ikäheimo – Fashion BA, The Exhibition Prize Winner

Elina Heilanen – Fashion BA

Designers’ Nest 2022 

Designers’ Nest is a non-profit initiative that supports fashion talents from the Nordics in their early stages after graduation. It features graduate designers who show high levels of originality, creativity, craftsmanship and responsible design.

The winner of the Designers’ Nest Award in 2022 is FaCT graduate Boram Yoo.

Boram Yoo wins 50.000 DKK (approximately 6.700 euros) as early support of her work, receives a study trip to UEDA College of Fashion in Osaka, Japan, and is awarded a ceramic artwork created by Danish artist Karl Monies.

Description of Boram Yoo’s collection:

MA-graduate of Aalto University, Boram Yoo has explored the history of the forced labour uniform in Korea. One of the staple garments worn by Korean elderly women are trousers with eccentric floral prints, which were originally black attire used in forced labour in the colonial era. The cheerful floral prints were applied after the war to overcome the horrible past as hyper-eccentric design of an imagined positive future. With floral prints overlaid on the military garment from the Korean War, Boram juxtaposes the stories of war and the optimistic re-appropriation of garments. The collection captures the sublimation of hardship into eternal value and beauty through hopeful imagination. As her main technique, Boram has “painted” with fabrics by merging fabrics with contrasting characteristics and prints together 3-dimensionally as a de-contextualisation of both the military elements and floral prints.

Collection by Boram Yoo, Photos: Designers’ Nest

The Jury statement:

“Boram Yoo is a designer whose work exhibits exceptional attention-to-detail, a keen sense of historical investigation, and emotional depth. Her designs speak to fashion’s power as a tool for self-reclamation, and communicate a spirit of eccentricity and optimism – of hope in the face of hardship. Bringing together opposing aesthetic tones and textures – the hard functionality of Korean military garments with plush velvets, or painterly florals with blurred digital prints – Boram’s vision is rigorous, vibrant and undeniably contemporary, making her a truly deserving recipient of this prize.”

The members of the jury: 

Mahoro Seward, Fashion Features Editor at i-D
Mariasole Pastori, Executive Director at Diorama and
Talent Acquisition Consultant
Ida Petersson, Buying Director at Browns Fashion
Anders Sølvsten Thomsen, Stylist and Creative Consultant
Ane Lynge-Jorlén, Director at Designer’s Nest

Aalto fashion students in finals of the 37th Hyères Fashion Competition in 2022

The 37th Hyères International Festival of Fashion Competition finalists have been announced, and Aalto FaCT students are once again selected in the finals.

Finalists are:

Juha Vehmaanperä – FaCT

Sini Saavala – FaCT

Jenny Hytönen – Fashion BA

Sini Saavala’s look for Hyères, Photo: Villa Noailles

Juha Vehmaanperä’s look for Hyères, Photo: Villa Noailles

Read more:

The Finalists of the Designers’ Nest Award

The Finalists of the 37th Hyères International Festival of Fashion

EXPERIMENTAL TEXTILE DESIGN 2020 EXHIBITION

DATE: December 9th 2021 – January 14th 2022

PLACE: Väre, Exhibition Space FK Lobby, 2^nd floor

Designers

Anusuya Krishnaswamy, Cambria Sinclair, Elina Silina, Ella Fabritius, Ema Ursic, Henna Salminen, Huoying Zhang, Iris Kareoja, Janneke Spaan, Juan Guevara, Minerva Skyttä, Petra Lahtinen, Shweta Dash, Susanna Raiskio, Takako Akimoto, Vilma Kantanen, Yu-Chen Lin

Research and Concept Development, Experimental Samples, ENGARTs Project, Photo Workshop

Helmiina Hirviniemi, Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen, Maarit Salolainen

Basic Knitting, Basic Printing, Woven Fabrics ­– Material and Structure

Iina-Alisa Lakea, Hilkka-Maija Fagerlund, Tiina Paavilainen, Maarit Salolainen

Head Professors

Adj. Prof. Maarit Salolainen, 3D Surface Design and Textile Materials – Department of Design, Prof. Jouni Partanen, Advanced Production Methods – Department of Mechanical Engineering

Gardening memories

Elina Silina

My research was led by two themes: consistency and opacity. Through mind mapping and association techniques, I dug deeper into my subconsciousness. This led to a realization, growing up from an incredibly early age, I was surrounded by gardens – flowers or vegetables, berries, or apple trees. The presence of gardening was, and still is, constant. My whole family has always gardened, but I wanted to emphasize my mother’s and grandmother’s relationship with growing plants. I chose to start my exploration with my grandmother’s flower dress print and my mother’s flower ink drawing. Through the development of this project, I realized that I am trying to preserve the memory of my grandmother through the appropriation of her dress.

Touch Me Not

Ella Fabritius, Minerva Skyttä & Susanna Raiskio

The project “Touch me not” is inspired by the Mimosa pudica plant, which protects itself from hungry herbivores by closing its leaves when touched. The idea of our project evolved from the need and interest to protect ourselves against harmful encounters and environments. When the textile detects something that is too close, it begins to move as a warning sign. The reaction of our textile visualizes the need to respect everyone’s personal space. 

Disillusion

Cambria Sinclair

This multidisciplinary project originated from my fascination with cells and bacteria. I was intrigued by the relationship of humans and microorganisms, and the seemingly negative view we have of them. I was perplexed by the notion that most people rarely think about the organisms living within- and around them. This concept led me on a journey of researching mutation, natural vs. artificial, and brought up questions of our implicit negative reaction to “artificial” things. The use of natural components (protein-based materials) mixed with artificial materials is meant to induce self-reflective thoughts. My hope is to fracture the illusion we have constructed for ourselves, and initiate a more personal relationship with the world around us.  

Linear Overlay 

Anusuya Krishnaswamy

Reflecting on human visual perception, Linear Overlay is a set of layered experiments that can be moved around and played with, obscuring and unveiling patterns between them. This collection of textiles is based on the study of interference patterns, designs that emerge when simple lines and dots are overlapped. Opaque and translucent textiles are divided with lines and cuts, light and shadow slipping through, revealing delicate patterns. 

“Sometimes when I close and open my eyes, the world seems to play tricks on me. Double everything, uncanny, somehow things don’t seem to fall neatly in place.” Between what is known and unknown, our physical senses can be limiting, but also let us experience fascinating wonders. 

Memories Flowing 

Yu-Chen Lin

This project was inspired by photos and videos I took during my trips to Japan. While looking through all the photos, I found two themes continuously appearing, which were the misty winter scenes and the water droplets on the window of the train.  

The silhouette of the forest and mountains were partly blurred by the mist and waterdrops, which intrigued me and led to my research points – see-through and translucency. 

I Grew Up Between Two Rivers

Janneke Spaan

Fascinated by our constantly changing surroundings from a human and natural perspective, my research was led by two contrasting themes, “elasticity” and “rigidity”. The resilience of nature and its rhythms are a source of inspiration for my work. Through explorations, I can understand them from an applied and abstract context. With this research, my intention was to capture moments of material behaviour through craft experimentation. Rigidity refers to catching the moment during the process. When it starts to move again, this state refers to the elasticity of a condition. Together these two themes create a situation that can still change, can still be developed, and still moves. My research became a source for rethinking material behaviours. When conditions are ever-changing and flowing, the material chooses its own shape. 

Metabolism

Takako Akimoto

I chose the word “consistency” as a starting point for the concept of my project. The word flows through nature, circulation of material, circle of life and DNA. This is the system of our energy, the metabolism of earth.

I was immediately inspired by the concept of consistency. I started ink drawing to change my words into a graphic expression and visualize my thoughts. I divided the concept into two categories, “material”, and “layers”. I applied my images onto woven fabrics, using printing techniques.

EXPERIMENTAL TEXTILE DESIGN 2020 EXHIBITION

DATE: December 9th 2021 – January 14th 2022

PLACE: Väre, Exhibition Space FK Lobby, 2^nd floor

Experimental Textile Design course (course code MUO-E1048)

In this course, students are familiarized with traditional, new, and experimental textile materials and production methods. They gain an understanding of how to use textile materials and techniques as a form of expression. Students learn to manage creative processes resulting in innovative products and collections and recognize the new opportunities in the field of textiles related to neighbouring disciplines. Students without previous knowledge of textile techniques learn the basics of knits and knitwear, printed fabrics and/or woven fabrics within basic studio courses. The approach of this course is practice-led and explorative and relies on personal research.

The ARTS students can take part in the multidisciplinary ENGARTs project within the course module. In this multidisciplinary project, ENGARTs teams collaboratively work on projects combining science and technology with textile design practices. ENGARTs projects are facilitated and guided by the department of engineering staff.

The ENGARTs project establishes an innovative and collaborative platform for students to merge technology and design and to explore new ways of developing experimental textiles, materials, and fabrication methods through research and concept development.