WORKS BY

Iida Arvola, Lilla Egg, Alma Haavisto, Helmi Mäntysaari, Joseph Hallam, Nhung Huynh, Lisa Heikkinen, Janette Karppinen, Sofia Huttu-Hiltunen, India Kiisler, Shan Shan Lim, Lila Monin, Christian Nemnich, Niina Mantsinen & Niilo Tervevuori

TEACHERS

Maarit Salolainen

Helmiina Hirviniemi

Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen

Emmi Pouta

COURSE ASSISTANTS

Jere Vilo

Kristian Presnal

Exhibition photos by Kristian Presnal @kristianpresnal

THE SOUNDS OF YARNS by Lila Monin

FRAGMENTED REALITY by Alma Haavisto

ON PRESERVATION by Iida Arvola

MADE IN OUT OF SIGHT by Joseph Hallam

CLEANING DUTIES by Nhung Huynh

CALMING WATERS by Janette Karppinen

WHO ARE YOU WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING? by India Kiisler

Näytös25 show will be streamed LIVE on @aalto_fashion Instagram 22.5.

Näyttely25 exhibition will be open between 16.5.-31.5.2025 at Aalto University Väre building, Otaniementie 14.

Opening hours:

Mon-Fri 10–20

Sat 10–17

Sun Closed

Exceptions:

Wed 21.5. 10–17

Thu 22.5. 10–18

Tue 27.5. 10–17

Main collaboration partner: City of Espoo @espooesbo
Photography: Severi Uusitalo @severiuusitalo

WORKS BY

Claire Pixie Aunison, Olli Autio, Apollo Da Costa Dória, Lauri Greis, Johanna Hehemann, Jarkko Karppinen, Y Kiili,
Riikka Laaksoharju, Senni Mellin, Ella Mustaniemi, Aurora Myyry, Marija Okrslar, Marina Piva, Autuas Ukkonen

TEACHERS

Maarit Salolainen
Helmiina Hirviniemi
Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen
Emmi Pouta

TEACHING ASSISTANT

Venla Elonsalo

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.

@aalto_fashion

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

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

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