Helsinki's Aalto University is a hidden gem of a fashion school and probably the closest surviving thing to a traditional art school when governments are doubling fees for arts degrees (Australia) or cutting fundings to prioritise 'high-value subjects' (UK). Aalto University's tuition-free BA Fashion and MA Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design courses, with an acceptance rate of about 10 per cent, nurture students who put experimentation, craftsmanship and sustainable innovation at the core of their practices.

 

After cancelling the annual degree show last year due to the global pandemic, the university allowed the Covid class of 2020 to utilise facilities for an extra year and showcase their work alongside this year's graduates. On Friday 28th, Aalto University launched its first digital showcase, Näytös21 (means "show" in Finnish), celebrating the work of 17 BA and 11 MA students who have created their collections in these extraordinarily traumatic times, which called forth innovation and resourcefulness. "A strong sense of community has been evident during the pandemic, despite remote learning," says Pirjo Hirvonen, Professor of Fashion Design at Aalto University. "Despite the exceptional situation, the quality has not been compromised. The pandemic hasn't just limited young people's working conditions. It has also enabled them to focus on creative work and come up with new ideas. Today there is greater attention on finding more durable and responsible working models," Hirvonen adds.

 

Search for comparably responsible alternatives to exceedingly wasteful production processes was a running theme throughout the collections that explored topics ranging from "the comical bleakness of hospital clothing" to "an etiquette on how to correctly wear socks". 

 

"We don't need more clothes. Capitalism, consumerism, climate change, and the fashion industry as a whole make me very anxious," says Julia Strandman. Her BA collection was made out of small dyed lace scraps that the designer collected by scavenging through trash bins and classmates' offcuts. "I have Synesthesia, and I just created the visual version of a world I saw while listening to the Rockbitch," the designer explains the inspiration behind her collection that dressed the members of her imaginary queer witch cult in acid colours and deconstructed patchwork crochet dresses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Isolated from friends, with no resources or facilities at hand, many took to nature, not only for solace but for inspiration. Markus Anttonen's BA collection referenced textures, shapes and patterns the designer found in his surroundings. "The way the bark grows, the way that a fern grows from a quarried cliff, the way that plastic melts. All these things have a very strong appeal to me. Forms that remind us of how things are made. There is this sincerity I see in these shapes. They just are how they happened." 

 

Anna Semi's MA collection titled "Project T(h)ree" took the concept of nature more literally. Drawing visual references from the furniture archive of Finnish design company Artek, Semi incorporated wooden, hanger-like formations in her draped slip dresses and sheer tops, altering the silhouettes of the garments we know and love.

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Locked up in their childhood bedrooms, some reverted back to childhood. Venla Elonsalo's BA collection, for example, was based on an impressive array of soft toys she owned as a child and, in search of emotional comfort in these distressing times, created "wearable toys". The idea for the collection came to her after she made a fuzzy, waistcoated teddy bear in a workshop with Sue Quinn, an author of How to Make Heirloom Teddy Bears. Despite the avant-garde quality of Elonsalo's elephant dresses and bear hoodies, comfort and wearability were huge considerations for the designer. "I have done a lot of work to make patterns of the bear jacket so that the jacket has enough mobility to be comfortable. I have also focused on the weight of garments. The giraffe cape is the heaviest one, but it is very backpack-like to wear."

 

Toys were on Leevi Ikäheimo's mind as well. His kaleidoscopic BA collection — which stuck out amongst the sea of natural tones dominant in other collections — examined the influence toys have on our perception of masculinity. Collection — titled “No Pain, No Glamour “— featured avatars that referenced plastic toys he owned as a child. He spent lockdown scrolling through eBay to find some of the specific toys he loved as a child. The leg warmers, knitted jumpsuits and faux fur coat were handwoven and knitted from textile waste and, in cases, trash. His avatars — Michelin Men on acid — donned spiky headpieces, a reference to Ikäheimo's favourite Stone Protector troll dolls and Helsinki's turn-of-the-millennium rave culture. The spiky semi-transparent sets and stockings were knitted from fine stainless-steel yarn, thermosetting polyester and fine nylon monofilament "that gave the collection an extra POP!" "Whenever I wear these things, I instantly feel like the queen of the night at some random under the bridge techno party," the designer says. Ikäheimo's toys belong to "a future where garments made from waste are seen as the ultimate form of luxury and glamour. The DIY culture is blooming in Helsinki, and that's something that keeps me interested in fashion," he adds.

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Unlike some of his fellow classmates, Joona Rautiainen's BA collection of unstructured suits erred more towards commerciality. "I think it is very important to design something that can actually be worn and used, especially when we need to think about more sustainable ways to make clothing. Of course, we still need fantasy and escapism, but sometimes it is good to face what we are dealing with," the designer says. 

 

Nevertheless, Rautiainen's collection was far from what you would find in a terrifyingly homogeneous section of men's formalwear. Proposing masculinity as a "vague concept", the collection drew heavily on the dualities he identified in Herb Ritts' photography (specifically Man with Chain, 1985 and Male Nude with Veil, 1985.). "Those images represent the normative, warrior-like masculinity, but they break the norm with the softness of the lights and shadows" The trench coats, loosely fitted suits and vests — made from up-cycled curtains and left-over silk tulle that the designer sourced from recycling centres in the Uusimaa area — were accessorised with watches, necklaces, brooches and belts made out of glass and mirrors ( a collaboration between Rautiainen and artist Aleksi Marjamaa). The goal was "to produce a timeless collection with a commercial value, pieces that can be worn tomorrow or in 20 years."

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The collection that stole the show was designed by Janette Laakso. Her over the top BA menswear collection titled “Go Big or Go Home” drew on exaggerated 80s silhouettes and "pompous evening wear." The star piece was the emerald green taffeta dress with a farthingale-like understructure, which "just kept growing wider and wider" in the process of construction. The patchwork leather jacket exaggerated the 80s shoulders and was made out of hand-stitched and dyed leather scraps of thrifted jackets. Laakso admits that the collection changed a lot over the extra year university gave to the class of 2020. "The extra time we got created some hassle and stress, but I started to trust myself more and focus on the invisible details, which I would not have done otherwise. Lockdown gave us time to challenge ourselves again and again."

 

 Aalto University's degree show might not have been the most dramatic showcase of revolutionary silhouettes or unwearable sculptures. But it's fair to say that when it came to innovation in textile and technique, Aalto University went big before it went home.