Young Designer of the Year 2024 is Arttu Åfeldt

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Young Designer of the Year 2024 is Arttu Åfeldt

Published: 26.11.2024

The designer, who is about to graduate from 911��’s Master’s programme, wants to reform menswear and challenge traditional manufacturing methods.

A person in a shiny outfit walks in front of a stack of wooden and metal beams in an industrial area. — Photo: Mortti Saarnia

Arttu Åfeldt, who will graduate this autumn from 911��'s Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design Master's programme, has won the Young Designer of the Year 2024 competition. He will receive a €5,000 prize, donated by the Finnish Fair Foundation.

Åfeldt's aim is to reform the way men dress and challenge traditional manufacturing methods by developing alternative ways to replace them. His designs combine traditional tailoring with new technologies and materials.

“As a designer, I am interested in the ever-evolving technology, materials and equipment that enable the development of innovative manufacturing methods. I have focused on technologies and materials that use heat and pressure to combine textile materials – such as vinyl finishing and seam taping”, says Åfeldt.

Person with short hair, wearing earrings, a red scarf, and dark clothing, stands against a rough, dark wall. — Designer Arttu Åfeldt. Photo: Mortti Saarnia

Åfeldt entered the competition with a carefully tailored outfit including trousers, a shirt and a jacket. The work was inspired by the youth fashion phenomenon of generic tracksuits.

According to Åfeldt, the tracksuits favoured by young people are very similar because they are made in the same factories using similar patterns. The only distinguishing factor is the rhinestone embossing of company logos or patterns.

Wanting to create something unique, Åfeldt did everything by hand, from the patterning to the design and finishing details. For example, he hand-decorated an entire outfit with rhinestones. The judges were impressed with the result.

Person wearing a black and red outfit covered with rhinestones. Background is a wooden surface in an outdoor setting. — Photo: Mortti Saarnia

Person in a red coat and pants standing on a construction site, with buildings in the background. Sunlight shines behind them. — Photo: Mortti Saarnia

“Arttu Åfeldt’s excellent technical expertise and insightful ability to create new solutions are impressive. But what makes the biggest impact is how Arttu conveys a love for fashion and a passion for creating it. I believe that Arttu has a bright future in the world of fashion. I wish him success, and at the same time, I hope that we do not completely lose him abroad”, says the chair of the competition jury and the editor-in-chief of Gloria magazine, Kristiina Raitala.

Åfeldt uses innovative manufacturing methods such as hot-air seam taping and vinyl finishing as visual elements. These techniques can be used, for example, to produce the seams and pockets of a traditional suit without sewing.

Person in a long coat walks past stacked wooden beams and metal structures in an industrial area. — Photo: Mortti Saarnia

“Fashion evolves, like the rest of the world. I believe and hope that the importance of craft skill will only grow in the future – by presenting itself in opposition to the current social media and artificial intelligence culture in which anyone can create material out of nothing”, says Åfeldt.

Åfeldt's design work has also been recognised internationally. His Bachelor’s thesis collection reached the final both in the Copenhagen Fashion Week’s Designers’ Nest event (currently called Alpha) and the Young Designers' Competition at the Hyères Festival in France.

For the future, Åfeldt has many options. He dreams of starting his own brand, developing his skills in a fashion house or working with an existing brand.

This year marked the 30th edition of the Young Designer of the Year competition. The Young Designer of the Year competition seeks emerging talent in the field and innovative, feasible designs.

The jury includes the chair, editor-in-chief of Gloria magazine, Kristiina Raitala; fashion artist Ritva Falla; fashion influencer Taru Marjamaa; fashion designers Hammi Mettinen and Teemu Muurimäki; clothing designer Katri Niskanen; stylist and fashion journalist Nina Nuorivaara; fashion designer Mert Otsamo; and clothing designer Mari Talka. This year’s non-permanent member of the jury is Young Designer of the Year 2023, Henna Lampinen.