Aalto Fashion Steps Into The Spotlight

On the heels of their recent Hyéres Fashion Festival success, Aalto’s students are having a busy May with not one, but a total of four high profile events:  First, as part of the Beijing event Moi Helsinki (May 14th), additionally Aalto fashion will be showcased as part of the prestigious TAF Millennium Prize gala, and finally, fashion offers their yearly Näytös and Tekstiili16 (May 25th) shows, as a part of Aalto Festival.

Finnish fashion and textile work has been making waves in recent years for it's defiant retelling of a tired narrative; a bold and critical discourse about the field.  Through their daring and experimental designs, Aalto's students and alumni have recently been celebrated for their fresh take by Vogue, The New York Times, Wallpaper and countless other top level publications.

Aalto Professor of Fashion, Pirjo Hirvonen notes, “We could not be more excited to highlight these students and their vision.  We feel very proud of their work and that we have something truly new to show the fashion world; something really vibrant and passionate.”

All the events are prominent, but as part of the Moi Helsinki event in Beijing, "10 X Aalto" compiles 10 of the brightest young designers from Aalto University into one must-see fashion show. "10 X Aalto" showcases work from seven students and three Aalto Alumni.  Among others, this show features collections by Satu Maaranen, the winner of Hyéres 2013, Rolf Ekroth, winner of the Scandinavian Designers Nest and Young Designer of Finland 2015, and a finalist at Hyères 2016, and Akino Kurosawa, also a finalist at Hyères 2016.

In recent years, the main prize of the Hyères Fashion Festival, which is aimed at young professionals, has been awarded twice to collections from Aalto University School of Arts, Design, and Architecture. In 2012, Siiri Raasakka, Tiia Sirén and Elina Laitinen, final-year undergraduate students, were awarded the Grand Prix for their collection of men’s clothes and in the spring of 2013, designer Satu Maaranen took the first prize. In the spring of 2015 Elina Määttänen, Sophie Sälekari and the partnership of Elina Äärelä and Heini-Maria Hynynen selected to be among the ten finalists at the Hyères Fashion Festival. Last year's finalists Elina Määttänen and Sophie Sälekari are already employed in to the large fashion houses in Europe.

With all the recent attention on the new generation of Finnish designers, these events will be a rare opportunity to see these rising stars as they step out onto the runway to define the future of fashion in Finland and beyond.