FINNISH FASHION: BEST OF

ALL IN ONE

photos by Mikko Rasila and Eeva Suutari

From February 2016 to February 2017, best of my monthly Finnish Fashion posts.
 Could not have imagined even in my wildest dreams that the project would turn out to look this good but that is all thanks to Mikko and Eeva, the two people behind their cameras. Love you both.

FINNISH FASHION: MANNISTO

LAST ONE

photos Eeva Suutari

makeup Keiku

hair Meron Laine

The 13th and last Finnish Fashion post featuring Mannisto, - a menswear label that was established in 2015 by Julia Männistö, a Colombian-born and Finnish-bred Central Saint Martins graduate. 

The Autumn/Winter collection is her second outing after her graduate collection, which was even praised by a semi-finalist position in the prestigious LVMH contest. The A/W collection 'Los Gatos Locazas' is an interesting mix of feminine silhouettes, sturdy construction site garments and traditional South American textile art. 

FINNISH FASHION: ONAR

JANUARY

photos by Mikko Rasila

ONAR is an abstract art and electronic music inspired, Helsinki-based design house with it's main focus on ethically produced shearling and 100% vegetable tanned leather pieces. ONAR ("dream" in ancient Greek) was established by Irene Kostas in 2014, as an own clothing brand had been a dream of hers for a long time. 
She isn't afraid of contrasts and unlikely matches which can be seen in all of her designs. All the high-quality items are handmade by artisans in Finland and Northern Greece.
Find out more HERE.

FINNISH FASHION: ANNA SARASOJA

DECEMBER

photos by Mikko Rasila
photographer's assistant Apollo Da Costa Doria

The last FF-post for this year is about a fashion design student at Aalto University, Anna Sarasoja. Her BA collection consists of 7 looks which all got their inspiration from war pilots, WWI nurses and the Finnish movie Calamari Union by Aki Kaurismäki. 

She loved the cool clothes and attitude of the movie characters but wanted to combine them with something more feminine - this is where the nurses got in the picture. Red and white, which are the dominating colors of the whole collection, were taken straight from that world. Long knotted fabric strips on the other hand got their inspiration from war pilots. 
A very successful mix when the result looks like this.

FINNISH FASHION: ELINA ÄÄRELÄ

NOVEMBER

photos by Mikko Rasila

Elina Äärelä is a fashion design student from Aalto University, with her main focus on menswear. 

In her BA collection she got inspired by the slideshows "Boy Town" by Nina Manandhar and "Twentysix Different Gas Stations in Africa" by Frank Verdier. She fell in love with the flower printed and beautifully colored clothes that could be seen in both of them and wanted to get the same feeling to her collection by using red and blue as the main colors.

The crystals that she applied on the knees and chest on every piece were sponsored by Swarovski.

This year Elina wanted to try something new and is now working on a womenswear collection for upcoming spring. 

Can not wait to see it!

Thank you Sokos Hotel Vaakuna for letting us shoot in this beautiful lobby.

FINNISH FASHION: éN

OCTOBER

photos by Mikko Rasila
makeup and hair Eevaleena Liedes

New month, new Finnish fashion post. And the first one about accessories. 
The modern Helsinki-based brim hat brand éN was launched only a few months ago, in August. 
The hats are all unique and hand-made with an unfinished brim that makes them recognisable and distinctive. Thanks to different heights, brims and colours - they go for both men and women and for every style imaginable. A good hat can be a real life saver in case of a bad hair day. sunny weather or just a boring outfit.
Some delicious new colours coming for spring, stay tuned.

FINNISH FASHION: KATRI NISKANEN

SEPTEMBER

photos by Eeva Suutari

Katri Niskanen was the winner of the first season of Project Runway Finland in 2009. Since that she has started her own label, opened her own store here in Helsinki and dressed many Finnish women. Her ready-to-wear collections are recognizable for feminine and clean silhouettes, drapings and comfortable cuts. She is also very known for her beautiful, unique evening gowns. 
 I got the chance to be the first one to show the best pieces of their SS17 collection. The girly side of me (yes I do have one) LOVES that light pink jacket with the bow. If you ask me, this is the best collection we've seen from Katri so far. So many pieces that I could imagine taking home with me.

FINNISH FASHION: TURO

AUGUST

photos by Mikko Rasila

So it is time for this month's Finnish fashion post.
 And since I didn't get enough of men's clothing in June when we shot some Rolf Ekroth goodies, I decided to dress myself as a guy again. This time in suits by the biggest manufacturer in the Nordic countries, Turo.
Turo started as a men's clothing label in 1938 but ended up specializing in suits. Timeless, high-quality and easy to wear, they say. And from what I've heard - a good quality-price ratio. Sounds good to me.
I fell for the oversized and boxy boyfriend fit of these jackets, especially the shiny black one. Would work really well with a slip dress.

FINNISH FASHION: MARIMEKKO

JULY

photos by Mikko Rasila

This month's Finnish fashion brand is definitely the best known so far. A brand that has always been special for us Finns and one that we have all grown up with.
This FW16 collection is the second one for Anna Teurnell as the creative director and she continues on creating something new but still recognisable for Marimekko. This fall she took Marimekko back to the 70's and I'm liking it.That green quilted tunic with light pink flowers was my favorite as well as the Louhi choker seen on the first photo.