LAITINEN are Anna and Tuomas , brother and sister born in Helsinki Finland . Their dark aesthetics combine northern melancholy with precise cuts, luxurious materials and subtle detailing. Before founding their company in 2006, Anna worked in fine Art and Tuomas worked as a fashion writer and stylist, after graduating from the prestigious MA Fashion Course at London’s Central St. Martins in 2004.
The first collection by Tuomas and Anna Laitinen won special mention from the jury prize at the Hyères Festival 2006. The award was strongly supported by the festival’s guest judge Ann Demeulemeester, and it enabled the Finnish brother and sister team to collaborate with the renowned Italian fabric manufacturers Puntoseta and launch their label “Laitinen” for Autumn/Winter 2007. The 1st Laitinen collection was immediately picked up by select boutiques worldwide including Maria Luisa in Paris and Midwest in Tokyo. Anna and Tuomas Laitinen’s work has also been featured in Hywel Davies’ book 100 New Designers ( Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2008) and they have also collaborated with photographer Nick Knight’s Showstudio.com.
For the first 5 seasons Laitinen collections included looks for both men and women. However in autumn 2009 Anna & Tuomas Laitinen decided to take a one season break to restructure their company and fully concentrate on the growing demand for the label’s menswear. The Laitinens’ 1st menswear-only collection for spring-summer 2010 was presented during Milan men’s fashion week in June 2009. Currently Laitinen is sold in select high-end boutiques and department stores throughout Europe and Asia including Isetan Tokyo and Harvey Nichols Hong Kong.
Laitinen Autumn-Winter 2012-2013 collection will be presented in Paris on January 22nd. AW12-13 is characterized by strong colors and coated tech fabrics, which marks a parting from the monochrome colour palette used in previous Laitinen collections. Collection fuses inspirations ranging from functional sportswear and military references to 1990s club culture and private school uniforms. When combined in an outfit these elements create a look of a rebellious student mixing his college uniform with clothes from a previous night out. Bold color scheme of green, red and orange continues in hand-knit mohair and silk knitwear and digital prints designed in collaboration with photographer Chris Vidal.
Finnish born
HEIKKI SALONEN graduated from Royal College of Art in London in 2008. Before starting his eponymous London ready-to-wear line in 2008 SALONEN worked for Erdem and is currently appointed as the Creative Director of DIESEL womenswear
Heikki Salonen collections are inspired by love for the actual pieces – real clothing that’s supposed to be worn. Juxtaposing offbeat spirituality and nonconformist attitude with defined tailoring and innovative materials, the collections combine sophistication with a dirty, rugged edge.
In 2008 Salonen won ITS07 Diesel award, in 2009 his graduation collection was part of the Victoria & Albert Museum Future Fashion Now Exhibition and this year( 2011 he has been awarded with Young Designer of the Year 2011 by Design Forum Finland.
His collection has been previously shown at London Fashion weeks on Official Schedule as part of Fashion East and British Fashion Council’s New Gen and been stocked internationally by Stores like : Maria Luisa Paris, Convenience store London, Sedona Tokyo, Debut New York, and Helsinki 10.
Laitinen and Heikki Salonen
Presentation on Sunday 22 January 2012
from 6pm to 9pm
Galerie Anne de Villepoix
