The Näytös24-award went to Petra Lehtinen for her MA thesis collection av yv. The jury for the award consisted of Stephanie D’Heygere, Annabel Fernandes, Ane Lynge-Jorlén and Antti Kekki.

Read the description of Petra’s work below.

Petra Lehtinen’s graduate collection “av yv” (meaning: an online marketplace shorthand term in Finnish and translates as “preliminary reservations, direct message”) explores garments that are removed from the wardrobe, but which are still kept by storing them in personal storage spaces. By studying the significance of archives in fashion, the concept of the collection is to bring clothes back from the archives, and to transform them from being unnecessary and space-consuming to being important by naming them as an actual archive. This act has guided Lehtinen’s creative process while also serving all the material for the new collection.

– Despite my initial intention to sell or repurpose clothes, they persisted in storage, lingering in bags and vacuum- sealed pouches, shuttling from one storage location to another during my relocations. This collection delves into capturing the intricate relationship that consumers, especially myself, have with garments in the era of mass consumption, Lehtinen explains.

Lehtinen sees the absurdity of contemporary consumption culture as worth documenting. Inspired by art movements like Nouveau Realisme and the Duchampian readymades, the collection involves direct appropriation of reality, such as garments sealed in vacuum bags. Lehtinen also drew inspiration from individual garments from the archive and how clothes are typically combined and layered in them. One of the designer’s once cherished objects was a silk shirt with an apple print and the text “SILK APPLE IN PARADISE”. It also engendered Lehtinen’s method of a “serpent-cut technique”, where archive pieces are combined with a spiralling cut.

– I identify with the sentiment expressed by the artist Andrea Zittel who finds satisfaction in self-made creative constraints. Similarly, my work questions what freedom really means as it is framed by capitalist society – perhaps the only way to be free is to make our own rules and criteria that fit within the rules already placed upon us.

By choosing to work with readymade materials, Lehtinen’s aim was to redirect the time designers usually spend browsing through fabric suppliers to the creative work and problem-solving. The temporal
aspect also connected to the concept of the archive by acknowledging that it has actually taken years to subconsciously collect the items in it.

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Näyttely24 is a new event launched this year, and the award for it went to Venla Elonsalo for her MA thesis collection I Weave Clothes. The jury for the award consisted of Stephanie D’Heygere, Annabel Fernandes, Ane Lynge-Jorlén and Antti Kekki.

Read the description of Venla’s work below.

I Weave Clothes by Venla Elonsalo explores the design and production of multilayered woven garments and accessories that do not require any sewing. The collection is a woven collaboration with a Turkish weaving mill, Vanelli.

– Combining the expertise and facilities at Vanelli with my creative pattern cutting and textile design skills opens new realms to design possibilities in whole-garment weaving, Elonsalo says.

Cloth-weaving and garment construction are combined into one step. The fabric layers interweave together creating three- dimensional textile-forms. Both textile design and creative pattern cutting play an integral role in the design process. The weaving is done with industrial jacquard weaving machines. Therefore, the loom sets limitations for designs because the garments need to lay completely flat and fit into the weave repeat.

With her graduate project, Elonsalo challenges the conventional fashion system and supports woven textile-form design research. The combination of four-layered garment flattening, surface patterns, and fulling creates an artistic contribution. The work also provides utility beyond aesthetic novelty, by reviewing how digital tools have been implemented in the design process. These tools include clothing and textile simulation software CLO3D and Shima Seiki’s ApexFiz.

– I find it fascinating how complex three-dimensional forms can be created within weaving, a binary system, by either lifting or not lifting the warp yarns.

The main material used is wool. This enables fulled finishing, which is done after weaving and before cutting to prevent fraying of the cloth. Small details like metal fasteners help balance the softness of the fulled wool. Colors and the exaggerated seams communicate the four-layered woven garment construction visually. This offers an introspective view into the creation process by providing insight into the design process. Works by Maison Margiela, Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo have inspired Elonsalo’s concept creation.

– I experienced a sense of contentment when I figured out how the two-dimensional cloth could be converted into wearable three-dimensional form. My intention is to cultivate a similar sense of joy when my designs are experienced.

The use of industrial weaving machines supports made-to-order production. Making garments on-demand is usually difficult to achieve at a price point that is comparable with conventionally produced products. However, when production is developed toward automation, it is more profitable to construct garments in high wage economies.

Even though post-weaving cutting is required, there is a significant reduction in manual construction steps compared to the industry standard cut-and-sew production. Currently, it is possible to knit whole garments industrially. However, for weaving, the development is still in the beginning. That is why I Weave Clothes thrives to find solutions that inspire the development of multi-layered woven garments that will revolutionize the fashion making process of today.

@aalto_fashion

The current PatternLab-group is working on patterns for the upcoming collections of 2025.

Read more here in finnish / in english

patternlab.aalto.fi

@pattern.lab

Additionally, Aalto Fashion launches a new event for 2024: Näyttely24, an annual exhibition showcasing graduate collections from BA and MA students.

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

Näytös24 award: Petra Lehtinen / Näyttely24 award: Venla Elonsalo

Jury:

Stephanie D’Heygere, creative director and senior designer
Annabel Fernandes, image and communications specialist
Ane Lynge-Jorlén, Director of ALPHA, an organisation that supports and empowers emerging Nordic fashion designers internationally
Antti Kekki, graphic designer

Espoo award: Minerva Skyttä

Given by Jukka Mäkelä, Mayor of Espoo

Youth jury:
Akseli Rakkola
Emilia Hänninen
Otso Pöntys
Sofia Garmash
Yandi Koka
Aapu Prokki

Jury mentor: Ervin Latimer, designer

Marimekko award: Jere Vilo

Jury:

Satu Maaranen, Head Designer
Emmakaisa Kirves, Design Director of Ready-to-Wear and Bags & Accessories

Fiskars award: Lauri Greis

Jury:

Petteri Masalin, Chief Design Officer
Vesa Kemppainen, Art Director
Noora Hostikka, PR Director

Konstsamfundet award: Lauri Greis

Jury:

Cilla Lönnqvist, Board Member, Board of Directors at Amos Rex
Leif Jakobsson, Director of Svenska Kulturfonden
Kieran Long, Museum Director at Amos Rex

Emma Museum award: Enni Lähderinne

Jury:

Pilvi Kalhama, Executive Director
Reetta Kalajo, Chief Curator
Salla Engström, Chief Shop Manager
Iris Suomi,  Chief Marketing Communications Specialist
Saara Suojoki, Development Director

Congratulations to all winners and all the graduates!

@aalto_fashion

TEACHERS

Maarit Salolainen
Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen
Emmi Pouta
Nora Bremer

Here, textiles are presented as a medium for creativity, design, narratives, and innovation, bridging storytelling and tactility. The interconnectedness of textiles and storytelling, lies in the etymology of the word text, deriving from the Latin root texere, “to weave”. The pieces and projects in this exhibition approach problem-solving and creative expression through different means, showing a diverse range of possibilities when it comes to material interpretations of textile stories.

This exhibition continues the series DIALOGUES, presenting textiles as a medium for future solutions. Launched in New York in November 2022 with a joint exhibition and seminar by Aalto University and Parsons – The New School, the exhibition was expanded on return to the Dipoli Gallery, Aalto University in Espoo in December 2022. The partnership with Central Library Oodi brings textile stories from Aalto University to new audiences in Helsinki.

SEE THE VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

Exhibiting Designers and Research Groups: 

Sanna Ahonen / Lorena Articadi / Nora Bremer / Venla Elonsalo / Anusuya Krishnaswamy /Josh Krute / Ella Siltavuori / Kristin Ferrell / Multifunctional Materials Design Research Group: Jaana Vapaavuori, Laura Koskelo, Maija Vaara, Mithila Mohan, Pedro Silva, Zahra Madani / Sun-Powered Textiles-Moiré project: Zuzana Zmatekova, Janne Halme, Elina Ilén, Maarit Salolainen / BioColour-Natural Indigo project: Kirsi Niinimäki, Arttu Åfeldt, Maija Fagerlund, Anna-Mari Leppisaari / Ioncell® Lindström towel project knit – Ioncell® research team & Elina Onkinen, Kasia Gorniak / Leonardo Hidalgo Uribe / Ia Kähkönen / Helmi Liikanen / Jarno Kettunen / Elisa Defossez

DIALOGUES Exhibition Team:

Concept and curation: Maarit Salolainen
Curator, Aalto Exhibitions: Edel O’Reilly
Exhibition coordinator: Nora Bremer
Graphic design: Aino Salonen

Collaborators:

Aalto Studios
Aalto Printlab & Bookstudio
Helsinki Central Library Oodi

textiles.aalto.fi

@aaltotextiles

Video: Aino Salonen