Ivana Helsinki invents a new style “The Fennofolk” inspired by the pure Scandinavian landscapes and eastern European melancholy. After a summer as stinging as a cactus in the midst of the desert, very “Diamond, stripes and revolver” where geometrical shapes are punctuated with hearts and colts, expect winter to blow a few feathers around, recurring patterns of the collection, for half women half birds who cannot wait to use their wings.

Interview

Caroline Cornu : Where do you find inspiration ?

Ivana Helsinki : I think of long car trips and love stories, true or imaginary. It’s a long lasting travelling on melancholic Arctic and Nordic landscapes where lost Bambis meet violent hunters; on western movie scenes where strong cowboys are reunited with the love of their life in empty motels.

The new collection is the sad story of a woman-bird locked in a mental cage. Trapped by a love story, an involvement, and an engagement ring.

CC : When did you start, when did you discover your taste for fashion, for clothes ?

YH : I started in 1998. I wanted to include fashion into a more global artistic project: music, film, and fashion; my dresses are like holiday souvenirs of my artistic universe.

CC : Where do you live, where do you work? With how many people ?

YH : I live and work in Helsinki, with some fifteen people, including my sister who really is my right hand. But when it comes to artistic issues, I’m the only decision-maker. I kind of dictate my visual sense I guess.

CC : How many collections to your name so far ?

YH : We already have 20 collections behind us and I navigate between different projects… From porcelain to short-films.

CC : What do you like about your town ?

YH : I like the sea and the islands facing Helsinki. I love the change in seasons: the endless summer nights, the snowstorms, the rough autumn winds, and the lights of spring; I love the gipsy quarter, the market square, and all the old market halls.

CC : The artistic movements that inspire you, your icons and muses ?

YH : I admire Andy Warhol, all at once cool, a business success, and a multi-artist who lives for the art. Nico could be my muse and Chloé Sevigny as a more modern version.

CC : Are you involved in another artistic activity? Do you feel close to any artistic movement ?

YH : I play the guitar and drums, and I have joined a few bands and different projects. We make short-films, or create designs and drink a lot of Champagne, as one does of course… being an artist.

CC : What fascinates you ?

YH : Passionate love stories, travelling by car, deserted motels, midnight sun, northern villages, flowery vintage dresses, people with charisma, stars, Finnish nature.

CC : What are the colour ranges, the cuts, the shapes, and the fabrics of your latest collection ?

YH : There are a lot of prints, the world of colour is huge, folk, Indian dresses and slightly strict cotton dresses for women drum players.

CC : Which material would you like to experiment with ?

YH : For the latest collection, I tested a new technique: I cut printed silk in slices, and I used each piece to recreate a brand new structure.

CC : How would you define your style ?

YH : It’s a mixture of Scandinavian style, Eastern European folk art, artists’ prints, and folk-rock items. It’s feminine, gipsy-ish and avant-garde for female rockers and Indian girls.

CC : What relates the film you made ?

YH : It’s about a girl, on her own, who swings within a circle, a ring, a wedding ring in fact. She is locked in a cage, just like a bird, a prisoner. But free souls should never be trapped… They have to be set free.