Hetta
Idaliina Friman, a graduate of Aalto University, has based her collection on Victorian silhouettes but softened obvious historical references by using drawstring fastenings and padding instead of boning and corsets. The voluminous silhouettes are draped with functional deadstock fabric, recycled yarn and eco-wadding made out of plastic bottles. Cued by her own family history - her Finnish Swedish great-grandfather had to flee to Lapland at the outbreak of Finnish civil war - the collection addresses the harsh struggles of abandoning a past life and gaining new cultural identity in order to survive.
Idaliina Friman is the winner of Designers’ Nest Award 2021. She wins 50.000 DKK, a study trip to UEDA College of Fashion in Osaka and a ceramic trophee created by Danish artist Karl Monies. Jury statement:
The 2021 winner of Designers’ Nest has designed a collection that impressed the jury on several levels: with visually striking silhouettes, accomplished tailoring, an elegant grasp of historic references and multifaceted fashion commentary. The collection is a thoughtfully executed take on making the impractical practical: taking its point of departure in Friman’s great grandfather, who had to flee a comfortable life of privilege during the Finnish civil war and establish a new life completely alone in Lapland, it imagines a 19th century noblewoman undertaking a similar journey.
Victorian grandiosity is seen through a lens of dressing for survival in the harshest temperatures, creating a tight angle on theatre versus practicality – a kind of time travel, where technologically advanced materials and utilitarian details cleverly rephrase the fin de siècle. In addition, Friman has taken a considered approach to working with recovered and recycled materials, showing a sensibility and awareness fitting of today’s society and the responsibility we as an industry have towards the environment.
Idaliina Friman is also one of the recipients of the joint Exhibition Prize 2021. Her collection was featured as part of the exhibition Future Nordic Fashion at the art museum Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde in Stockholm, 24 April-3 October.
