Place-Making the Local to Reach the Global: A Case Study of Pre-Helsinki

Abstract

The case of Pre-Helsinki, a designer-driven platform aiming at internationalizing Finnish fashion talents, illustrates how fashion designers through this platform mobilize local actors in reshaping Finnish fashion to increase its visibility at the international level. For this inquiry, the article develops the concept of place-making, which summarizes the collective efforts of fashion designers and other local actors in the internationalization of Finnish fashion. Place-making comprises three themes, including a dynamic and consolidated interplay among the local actors, economic and symbolic contributions of the actors to local development, and its implementation at multiple scales from neighborhood to city and nation. The data for analysis consist of semi-structured interviews with actors around the case and ethnographic observations. The research shows how Pre-Helsinki appeared as a reaction to local- and global-level disconnections in Finnish fashion and how these disconnections were addressed in its activities. The background, origin of the platform, its activities and main actors are discussed in the context of how the platform implements place-making and contributes to building a meaning of Helsinki and Finland as places of fashion. In conclusion, the case is explored in the broader development of the Finnish fashion ecosystem.

Keywords:

• place-making
• fashion design
• Finnish fashion
• Nordic fashion

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the City of Helsinki for supporting the finalization of this study with a research grant, and Julia Valle-Noronha, Kirsi Niinimäki; and Annamari Vänskä for sharing their comments in earlier stages of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 See the official website of the Hyères Festival: http://www.villanoailles-hyeres.com.

2 See the official website of the LVMH Prize: http://www.lvmhprize.com.

3 The Antwerp Six refers to six Belgian designers, Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Marina Yee. They graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts from Antwerp between 1980 and 1981.

4 See master’s theses on the Finnish fashion industry (Salonoja 2013; Colliander 2015; Takkinen 2015) and a doctoral dissertation on Finnish fashion firm Marimekko (Ainamo 1996).

5 The official website of Pre Helsinki: http://www.prehelsinki.fi.

6 The official social media channels of Pre Helsinki: https://www.facebook.com/PreHelsinki and http://instagram.com/prehelsinki.

7 Gloria is the leading local fashion magazine in Finland. Official website: http://www.gloria.fi.

8 See the official website of Helsinki Design Week: http://www.helsinkidesignweek.com.

9 Aalto University was launched in 2010 through a merger of three independent universities in the Helsinki metropolitan area, the Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics and University of Art and Design Helsinki, with a strong emphasis on multidisciplinary education.

10 Many participants in this study were actually involved during this time of forming Pre-Helsinki as industry experts, including Pekka Mattila, Kirsti Lindberg-Repo and Vuokko Nurmesniemi.

11 World Design Capital is a biennial city-scale event organized by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design to celebrate successful implementations of design in the selected city. See the official website http://wdo.org.

12 Marimekko is a Finnish fashion and textile company, which was launched in 1951.

13 In December 2017, Satu Maraanen was appointed by Marimekko as Head Designer of ready-to-wear, bags and accessories. Thus, a stronger relationship between Pre-Helsinki and the brand is expected. Previously, she had worked for the brand as a freelance designer for five years.

14 Martta Louekari, one of the co-founders of Juni, has a personal network in East Asia from her previous work experiences.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Namkyu Chun

Namkyu Chun (MFA, Transdisciplinary Design) is a doctoral researcher at Aalto University. By investigating the notion of fashion design thinking, his research aims at establishing a dialog between fashion and design research in order to introduce expanded roles of fashion designers beyond dressing the public. [email protected]

Olga Gurova

Olga Gurova (PhD, Cultural Studies) is an assistant professor in consumption studies at Aalborg University, Denmark. Her research interests include consumption studies, fashion studies and qualitative methods of social research. [email protected]