Teija Vartiainen (Born 1985)
Work speaks and teaches. My craftsmanship is an ever growing passion for clothing, forms and materials – not changing fashion. In that point of view I am not a typical fashion designer. Above all I love style and unique users of different garments. Fairy-tales, books, illustrations, variant art, vivid sounds of a vinyl record, past, future and primary: the colors inspire me.
Sustainability is one important corner of my work. Fast fashion, facelessness, mass production, fashion industry in present and thoughtlessness aren’t definitely my cup of tea. Awareness, ecologically sustainable materials, an aesthetic, functional and emotional products are the points in which I aim. I prefer small wardrobes as well as high quality. I aim to explore new combinations of a shape, surface and texture. Creative ready-to-wear clothes in a small scale are the closest which I feel passion for.
When I was a teenager I was described as “a walker of her own way”. Since then I realized the diversity of ideologies. I have an ever expanding mind with my own secret internal life. The roots of my world are based in an environment where every day is a gift.
Still I am not sure where my place is in the fashion industry. Even so I want to bring my cane in the pile. If I can impress even a few people to think about the drawbacks of the present world I have succeeded. From tiny canes the pile is ready.
Articles about me:
thecutnewspaper.com
“Completing the top three was Teija Vartiainen from Finland bringing us a slice of her homeland. As her models moved down the catwalk in structured clothes which seemed to completely reshape their bodies, all in shades of ice blue and white, they brought to mind glaciers gliding through channels of water.” Text / Jenny Barnes, the Cut Newspaper
Teija Vartiainen’s fashion collection reminds of global warming