Aalto’s Resort collection will go down as the fastest catwalk show ever. It lasted 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Creative director Tuomas Merikoski enlisted a crew of young and beautiful athletes to perform in the show; instead of walking, they actually race-walked, as if in a real competition.
Merikoski tapped into the current taste for sportswear by celebrating the strength of womanhood. “I looked at those tough sports which are seemingly not feminine,” he explained. He found a book called Strong Is the New Pretty, by American photographer Kate T. Parker, with pictures of girls being athletic and playing traditionally masculine and competitive sports. “It was amazing how they actually retain and live their femininity in such a self-confident, beautiful way while confronting such challenging physical efforts,” he enthused. He tried to convey the same sense of assured élan and dynamic sensuality in the collection, which was called 999. “It’s the number of angels and of positive luck and protective energy, as opposed to the haunting, evil 666,” he explained. “I think of it as the ultimate race number for the ultimate woman.” He had it patched on asymmetrical short shirts in wrinkled cotton and on uniform-inspired boxy jackets paired with performance stretch shorts.
From what one could see of the collection, given the fast pace of the model-athletes, it looked fresh, upbeat, and interestingly uncomplicated, with short draped dresses and geometrically cropped tops, and trapeze slip dresses worn over lightweight tees. A funny decorative note was provided via cartoonish patterns by the Swedish artist Joakim Ojanen printed on stretchy leggings paired with crisp masculine shirts.
As Merikoski pointed out, Aalto is about contrasts, so natural cottons with a wrinkly texture inspired by the Finnish traditional costumes from Karelia played against techno and performance fabrications. The blend of sport and reworked folklore gave the collection a “naive flavor,” as the designer described it; despite the dynamic, active vibe, the approach was delicate. It certainly had speed in spades.
