On 29th of April 2012 the Finnish girls Siiri Raasakka, Tiia Sirén and Elina Laitinen received the Festival D’Hyères 2012 “Grand Prix du Jury L’Oréal Professionnel” award for their eccentric menswear collection – A 15 000 euros prize and the opportunity to present their collection in Paris during S/S 13 Fashion Week.
Tiia, Elina & Siiri.
The 27 year old Hyères competition is one of the most important ones in the fashion world for young talents. It’s yearly held in the small town in South of France and well known as a channel for young designers to get recognized. This year ten young designers that were invited showcased their collections to a jury spearheaded by designer Yohji Yamamoto and including inspirational people like Terry Jones the founder of I-D Magazine.
The jury described Raasakka, Sirén & Latinen ‘s collection with the following words: ““Urban nomads living in a utopian future society” who looked like sci-fi heros on their way home after a rave party“, while the girls themselves commented their inspiration in one interview with three words “Boys! Youth! Revolution!“. The collection is a mix of neo-streetwear and 90s hippie-rave with futuristic/psychedelic prints and real craftsmanship.
“Raasakka, Sireé & Laitinen like to make it clear that they produced all of the prints themselves and knitted each of the pullovers and their out-of-fashion wallpaper motifs. Many of the garments are asymmetrical, almost as if they have been misshapen and deformed by careless youths, thus betraying a certain fragility. This trio of designers loves the margins and wastelands, where danger is apparent, thus placing a heavy emphasis on their refusal for over-polished fashion.”
Congratulations Siiri, Tiia and Elina!
-Tuukka
