Throughout the decades artists and landscape architects produced a rich body of work that directly moved from the many personal and collective meanings the landscape inspires us. It is indeed not surprising for specific landscapes to often hold a strong grip on the artistic consciousness and some artists - including George Inness, Childe Hassam, Christo and Richard Estes - often employed the landscape as their muse. Land Art is the starting point behind the womenwear's collection of Finnish designer Satu Maaranen.
Entitled "Garment in Landscape", the collection is a mix of art, camouflage and abstract Finnish prints and Haute Couture. The designs included in the collection invite the wearer to enter in communion with the landscape and become part of it through bright colours, surface elaborations, thick paint brush strokes and oversized wide-brim yet linear hats calling to mind the horizon. Some garments are characterised by atmospheric effects that the designer charged with a panoply of visual, physical and emotional experiences. Maaranen won with this collection the Grand Prix du Jury Première Vision at the 28th International Hyères Festival that took place last month.
Can you please introduce yourself?
Satu Maaranen: I grew up in Järvenpää, a city nearby Helsinki. I'm a graduate of Aalto University. I've studied art since I was 6 years old and later on studied art pedagogy. During my studies in fashion I did internships for a 200-year-old textile house, Erica, in Italy, and with designer Christian Wijnants in Belgium as well as a textile trainee program in Netherlands. I now work as a freelance designer based in Helsinki.
Is there a designer you particularly like?
Satu Maaranen: I really like Celine, Hermes and Kenzo, to name a few.
How was taking part in the Hyères Festival and winning the Grand Prix du Jury Première Vision?
Satu Maaranen: It was amazing. Just being one of the finalists was already an honor and gave me good connections to established people in our business. Winning a competition like this means getting appreciation and being acknowledged. Naturally, I feel happy about getting the prize.
Were you excited about presenting the collection to the jury?
Satu Maaranen: I was excited and also a bit nervous. After the presentation the jury members visited our showrooms and I got to chat with all of them a little. The female members of the jury also tried on some of my garments and that felt special. It was great getting feedback from them and I'm glad they liked what they saw.
Will you integrate some of the motifs/ideas from your collection in more commercial outfits for Petit Bateau since the award gives you the chance to collaborate with this brand?
Satu Maaranen: I might. The idea of bows and ruffles could be really cute in this context as well.
Can you tell us more about the inspirations behind this collection?
Satu Maaranen: I wanted to create a collection that took into account the surrounding landscape, where the garments could be in total harmony with the environment or in total discordance with it. I did research about land art, the camouflage phenomenon and the revolutionary print design in Finland during the '60s. When everybody else was making petite floral prints, Vuokko Nurmesniemi and Fujiwo Ishimoto, who designed for the Finnish textile and fashion house Marimekko, did something abstract and raw, almost primitive. The inspiration for the silhouettes and cuts came from traditional Haute Couture, but I wanted to create an experimental and young atmosphere. In this particular collection the "architectural" shapes are influenced by traditional Haute Couture, like Givenchy and Balenciaga. I guess sometimes architecture itself inspires me as well. I do work a lot with very three-dimensional shapes.
In which ways is the collection informed by art?
Satu Maaranen: I was inspired by both camouflage artists as well as land artist. The camouflage artists photograph themselves wearing clothes that perfectly reproduce a wall behind them, or a bench on which they are sitting. I was also intrigued by the astonishing works of many land artists in which the environment has an important role. Therefore I coated some of my fabrics with grass, sawdust or sand. And I also created digital prints of these surfaces. The spontaneous open silkscreen prints resemble different elements and moments in nature, everything from the movement of the sea to the northern lights and summer sunsets.
What kind of materials did you use for your collection?
Satu Maaranen: I used textiles such as cotton, silk and viscose. I coated some of them with sand, sawdust or grass; I handprinted or digital printed others. The collection withholds both stiff and thick fabrics and some very delicate and light silk organza. Some of the fabrics are very wearable and washable while others call to mind art pieces.
Will you be taking part in any fashion events soon?
Satu Maaranen: Due to winning of the Grand Prix du Jury Première Vision, I will be taking part in Berlin Fashion Week this summer with an extended version of my winning collection. Later on I will show my collection in both New York and Paris.
What are your future plans?
Satu Maaranen: I would like to work for a big fashion house somewhere in Europe to learn more and become an even better designer, and then someday maybe launch my own brand.
All images courtesy of Satu Maaranen
With thanks to freelance fashion designer Sofia Järnefelt for facilitating this interview.
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