Fashion in Helsinki continues to carve out its identity — one that’s proudly Nordic, fiercely creative, and quietly revolutionary. Known for its connection to nature, wellness culture (hello, saunas), and design legends like Artek, Helsinki played host once again to a city-wide celebration of fashion, crafts, and community. From bold runway shows to intimate exhibitions and the triumphant return of the Finnish Fashion Awards, Buro’s global fashion correspondent Lidia Ageeva reports from the Finnish capital on this year’s standout edition.
Finnish designers to keep on your radar
It’s become a signature of Fashion in Helsinki: staging the country’s leading collections in unforgettable locations. Last year’s show at the Helsinki Shipyard — where one wall of the cavernous space literally held back the Baltic Sea — was always going to be hard to top. But 2025 rose to the challenge with a show in Merihaka, a brutalist architectural relic from the ’70s, where the car park spans the first two levels before the actual building begins on the third. Once again, the location was scouted by Minttu Vesala (known to many simply as Minttu), the multihyphenate muse of Demna’s Balenciaga, whose fingerprints were all over this year’s programme.
The runway featured five standout designers who define the Finnish scene today. Ervin Latimmier, now a professor at Aalto University, presented looks he created for the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale — proving once again how fashion seamlessly bleeds into other art forms. Hedwig, the label helmed by Sofia Järnefelt and Taru Lahti, delivered elegant silhouettes drawn from the dichotomy of Sofia’s grandmothers — one a baroness, the other from the windswept Åland archipelago.
Rolf Ekroth returned with a collection that stitched together memory and craftsmanship, featuring dandelion motifs and echoes of his childhood summers. Meanwhile, Helsinki’s rebellious kid, Linda Kokonen’s Burgmansia, conjured a world of tension and tenderness—Victorian gothic meets featherlight fluidity. Her genderless, hand-made pieces are all crafted from upcycled materials. Finally, Winner of the L’Atelier des Matières Orize at the 27th Hyères Festival, local fashion darling Sini Saavala, presented her vision of the beauty of imperfection, closing the show with her deconstructed couture: slip dresses tangled with underwear, overlooked lace, and repurposed Chanel silks, all challenging traditional notions of beauty and femininity.
AMOS REX: THE CULTURAL REBOOT
Once a humble bus station, Amos Rex has undergone a striking transformation into one of Helsinki’s most forward-thinking contemporary museums. Under the direction of Kieran Long — formerly of London’s V&A and Stockholm’s ArkDes — the institution is embracing fashion as part of its evolving cultural identity.
During Fashion in Helsinki, its conference hall played host to Transformation Talks, a series of thought-provoking panels organised by indie publication Scandinavian Mind, as well as a fashion-focused cinema programme. Later in the week, the museum’s courtyard was dramatically reimagined as an open-air runway, where 57 emerging Finnish designers unveiled their work in a show curated by multidisciplinary artist and creative director Minttu Vesala. The concept, pitched to Long by Vesala nearly a year ago, was met with an immediate yes. After all, the overlap between fashion and museums is not only natural — it’s necessary.
“This bridge between fashion and museums is so important,” said Minttu. “It’s not about exclusivity—it’s the opposite. Fashion finds people, and people find fashion. When you’re a young designer, it’s easy to feel alone. Something like this gives you hope—and it’s fun.” She added: “Lining up the looks felt like composing a song. Each voice is different, but together they sing.”
AALTO UNIVERSITY’S NEW CLASS
Aalto University — consistently ranked among Europe’s top fashion schools — showed its BA and MA collections side by side during the annual Näytös show. This year’s cohort questioned everything from gender binaries to AI-generated aesthetics. The message? Return to the handmade, the unpredictable, the irreducibly human. There was also a hint of medieval revivalism and a playful pop-art energy running through the collections — proof that serious craft and wit can happily coexist.
WHEN FASHION TAKES OVER THE MUSEUM
Over in Espoo, EMMA (Espoo Museum of Modern Art) presented Social Fabric — a powerful exhibition on the socio-political dimensions of Nordic fashion. Curated by Ane Lynge-Jorlén, director of the fashion platform Alpha and a leaving voice on Scandinavian design, the show highlights 11 designers pushing boundaries, including Duran Lantink (now the first-ever permanent creative director of Jean Paul Gaultier), Sophie Winther, Sinéa Gorey, and Idaliina Friman. The exhibition runs until 7 December and is essential viewing for anyone invested in where fashion goes next.
Back in Helsinki, the newly merged Architecture and Design Museum opens its doors to Sofia Ilmonen’s Formations — an immersive solo show spotlighting her signature modular, transformable pieces. From light indigo denim to vibrant leather patches, jersey and classic shirting cotton, each design can be endlessly reassembled. The best part? Visitors are invited to touch, explore and interact. Fashion in museums has rarely felt so tactile — or so alive. On view until 1 June.
A SPOTLIGHT ON FINNISH FASHION’S BRIGHTEST AT THE FINNISH FASHION AWARDS
The festival crescendoed with the second edition of the Finnish Fashion Awards — an initiative designed to spotlight the brilliance and breadth of the country’s fashion landscape. “The Finnish fashion industry is bursting with talent and innovation. These awards are here to celebrate that,” said Miia Koski, CEO of Juni Communication and one half of the powerhouse duo behind Fashion in Helsinki, alongside her partner Martta Louekari. Marimekko, the nation’s most iconic brand, received the Scaling Award. Branding went to cult favourite VAIN, already turning heads from Helsinki to Seoul. Aalto alumna Tuuli-Tytti Koivula was named New Talent, and Miika Kemppainen picked up the Beauty Award for his impressive career and recent stint with Eurovision sensation Erika Vikman.
Photographer Jens Zitting, just 26, won for his lenswork capturing Finland’s freshest creatives, while the Retail Award went to Helsinki vintage treasure Kaartinen & Kuusela. Lilj The Label scooped Fashion for Happiness with its community-led swim clubs and sustainable swimwear, while accessories label Mifuko took the Sustainability Action Award. Rounding out the evening, Structural Colour Studio’s new brand Shimber won the Hyvön Award for innovation in textiles—proving that Finnish fashion isn’t just looking good, it’s thinking ahead.
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