#ONETOWATCH FROM FASHIONCLASH FESTIVAL 2018: Enni Lähderinne

May I introduce you to Enni Lähderinne?! A young fashion designer from Helsinki, Finland. During Fashionclash Festival the young creative designer unveiled one of our favourite collections. We had a hat with her about her work.. and asking the question: Fashion – My Religion.. what does this means to you?

Name: Enni Lähderinne / Age: 26 / Hometown: Helsinki / Menswear or Womenswear: Menswear, but I would personally say my designs are genderless.

Models: Jonathan (on the left) & Lyon (on the right)

KALTBLUT: Fashion – My Religion.. what does this means to you?

In a way it’s like the two sides of the coin. On the other hand, it means something that breaks me and makes me question my own values in life again and again. How important is the story behind the collection? Can fashion just be art? How about the nature and sustainability? Just like any religion, fashion makes me grow as a person. On the other side of the coin is the possibility to be consumed and get lost in the world of clothes, always buying more, without thinking how it affects the environment. I see this a lot at the place a I currently work at. Maybe Fashion – My Religion is about balancing between these two?

KALTBLUT: Hello. Welcome to KALTBLUT. Why have you decided to participate at FASHIONCLASH Festival?

This year the main theme of Fashionclash Festival spoke to me in many different levels and I wanted to join the discussion with my work. I felt like the story I wanted to tell had something to give to the audience.

KALTBLUT: Can you tell us something about the collection you presented at the FASHIONCLASH Festival 2018? What was your inspiration?

I wanted to tell a story of the growth of a young person. From the sheltered childhood to the first big downfall and finally to the total self-realization. I was highly inspired by Hermann Hesse’s Demian, and the belief of Abraxas. What if god is not only all things righteous, but also all the satanistic elements of the story of the God. The collection follows a timeline of a persons possible route to adulthood. We start as children, seemingly innocent. But in every child, there is written the code of humanity and thus no child is pure from the beginning. From there on we grow and gain more colors to our personality and keep on juggling between the temptation of freedom and the security our family brings us. The first thing that breaks us free is usually our first love. Be it a person, an event or a dream, it is the first thing that sets us to a different and a new path which was already written for us.. It is the first step of the journey of self-realization. It is the first Evil we meet, so to say. It is the snake that opened our eyes.

KALTBLUT: What kind of material did you used for the collection?

I used a mixed collection of fabrics according to what I wanted to portray with each look. For some pieces I used a see-trough stretchy tulle as a base and then like a collage sew different fabric pieces to it to give it more dimension. I was inspired by the youngsters who wore the punk-style back in the 70’s and tuned their own clothes, even without actually knowing how to use a sewing machine. This led to many of the materials having a checked pattern or a amount of roughness to it. I chose some see-trough and airy materials to balance this roughness.

KALTBLUT: What challenges did you face during the design process?

Finding the correct materials was a bit of a challenge. I’m really material based designer, so finding the exact fabrics I want to work with is one of the key elements of my design process.

KALTBLUT: How would you describe your self and your work?

I think just like me, my work is a little bit rough and punk- inspired but has its shiny sides. Even thought I don’t usually notice it right away, my designs often do reflect some parts of my Finnish forest wanderer heritage. Maybe that’s something I have in me too, wanderer of the mind.

KALTBLUT: What would you say that is the biggest influence to your design process?

The time between sketching and making the actual garments. The state where you still have room for new ideas and can change the design just before the last minute. I find myself developing new and better ideas the most at this state of the process.

KALTBLUT: If you had not become a fashion designer, what would you do instead?

I actually have no other career path in life I have thought of doing. I have been slowly walking towards this dream. But if I really wouldn’t be able to live this dream, it would probably have to be something to do with photography and art.

KALTBLUT: Who’s your dream client?

For me the dream client would be someone who inspires me. It can be just a normal person ready to discover themselves or a record selling artist. It’s all about the story they want to tell and whether I can add something to it with my designs. Of cource I would be lying if I would say that having amazing artists like Dua Lipa, BTS or Jared Leto wear my designs feels like nothing. Haha.

KALTBLUT: What was the first item you have ever designed? And who was the lucky one to get it?

It was during my upper-secondary school days when I designed and made my first skirt. The skirt was made from multiple different fabrics and didn’t quite fit correctly, but still at that moment it was the most fabulous piece of clothing I’ve seen since I did it all by myself from the pattern to the finishings. My mother got the joy of calling it her own. She still has the skirt, even though it’s not wearable anymore.