‘Imperfect’, ‘disruptive’ and ‘unpredictable’ will not be phrases usually related to Finnish design, least of all with Iittala, one its founding fathers. However new inventive director Janni Vepsäläinen shouldn’t be afraid to make use of all three and apply them to the 143-year-old firm.
Throughout Stockholm Furnishings Honest 2024, she unveils her first assortment inside a former nuclear reactor within the metropolis. It’s not your common debut; London-based composer and artist Damsel Elysium carried out a chunk utilizing glass ‘devices’ starting from two-meter-long hand-blown horns to bells and bottles, all hand blown within the IIttala manufacturing unit close to Helsinki.
Inside the brand new Iittala
The manufacturing unit is a spot Vepsäläinen calls a ‘By no means-By no means Land’ and it was ‘the ultimate deal breaker’ in persuading the London-based Finn to depart her job as senior knitwear designer at JW Anderson and head again to her homeland. ‘I’m so intrigued by the capabilities and know-how of the glassblowers; you may get so near the core of the fabric and begin from scratch.’
And ranging from scratch is what Vepsäläinen did. First, IIttala unveiled a brand new brand in a brand new typeface referred to as Aino. It’s named after Aino Aalto, spouse of Alvar, and pays homage to Iittala’s longest-running assortment, Bölgeblick, created by Aino Aalto in 1932. ‘Aino was avant-garde nearly to the purpose of being damaging,’ says Vepsäläinen, in admiration. ‘Every thing was floral and gold edged when she created her pared-back vases in 1932. You nearly want to interrupt one thing to be able to transfer on.’
Did Iittala want ‘breaking’? ‘Earlier than I took the job, Iittala instructed me what merchandise can be launched in 2026. I believed “Oh My God, it is too gradual!” In my earlier roles (at Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Simone Rocha and The Row) I used to supply 9 collections a 12 months.’ Amongst them was that JW Anderson patchwork cardigan, worn by Harry Types throughout lockdown. It went viral and is now a part of the Victoria and Albert Museum archive.
‘Do not forget to play’: Iittala icons in pas
Debuting alongside the efficiency in Stockholm is Play, a colour-soaked assortment of tableware, tablecloths, tea towels, blankets and cushion covers. It takes its title from Alvar Aalto’s well-known saying: ‘don’t neglect to play’, and caters to fashionable rituals and eating habits.
‘We have to get off the desk floor,’ says Vepsäläinen. ‘What number of instances can we truly eat at a desk now? What sort of stuff can we use? The Play items are multifunctional gadgets to be shared and liked.’ There are some reworked classics in there too. The Aalto Savoy vase, (‘Iittala’s Birkin Bag, its Crown Jewels’) seems in new lilac glass and three birds, by the late Oiva Toikka, seem in Play’s pastel palette.
Vepsäläinen brings trend aptitude honed at the perfect homes, and a world outlook. And she or he not the one dressmaker to affix the mom firm Fiskars of late. In September, Jasper Toron Nielsen (previously of Tom Ford, Givenchy and Burberry) stepped in as inventive director at Royal Copenhagen.
‘Vogue manufacturers have been glorious at creating emotional connections with shoppers and new audiences,’ says Vepsäläinen. ‘Scandinavian model has obtained a bit caught in a design language that’s fairly managed,’ she provides. ‘Typically perfectionism can’t be an excellent grasp. It’s good to let unfastened just a little bit. There’s a lot extra to discover. We must be extra experimental.’
iittala.com
Supply: Wallpaper