Saara Lepokorpi is a Helsinki based fashion designer with an MA from Aalto University.
A daughter of a self-taught craftsman/art gallerist father and a business consultant mother, she founded her womenswear label, Lepokorpi, in 2011. The stark duality of Saara's family background, similar to the northern environment where she lives, has an imprint on her work, often stemming from contradiction and conflict. Her esthetic is a marriage between the powerful, statemental and colourful tradition set by Finnish fashion pioneers in the 1960's (Marimekko, Vuokko Nurmesniemi), and the somber, Eastern-European state of mind finns are known for. The sources of her inspiration range from technology, and the way it clashes with organic reality, to scientific thought patterns, balancing in between freedom and restriction, and a modern, unapologetic interpretation of femininity. Music and films, especially those by David Lynch, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Lars von Trier, are a big inspiration Lepokorpi is a high fashion line with a strong crafty aspect. Saara has been sewing since the age of 4 and worked as a factory seamstress for a few summers. The collections include unique, hand made, special pieces, locally produced at her studio in Helsinki, and more moderately priced garments carefully designed and constructed for everyday life.
A daughter of a self-taught craftsman/art gallerist father and a business consultant mother, she founded her womenswear label, Lepokorpi, in 2011. The stark duality of Saara's family background, similar to the northern environment where she lives, has an imprint on her work, often stemming from contradiction and conflict. Her esthetic is a marriage between the powerful, statemental and colourful tradition set by Finnish fashion pioneers in the 1960's (Marimekko, Vuokko Nurmesniemi), and the somber, Eastern-European state of mind finns are known for. The sources of her inspiration range from technology, and the way it clashes with organic reality, to scientific thought patterns, balancing in between freedom and restriction, and a modern, unapologetic interpretation of femininity. Music and films, especially those by David Lynch, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Lars von Trier, are a big inspiration Lepokorpi is a high fashion line with a strong crafty aspect. Saara has been sewing since the age of 4 and worked as a factory seamstress for a few summers. The collections include unique, hand made, special pieces, locally produced at her studio in Helsinki, and more moderately priced garments carefully designed and constructed for everyday life.
AW2012:
SS2012:
I'll keep my eye on her! :)
txt and photos via Saara's website
