News & Features:
Behind the Scenes: Our girl in Copenhagen, Linda Sipilä
Linda Sipilä, winner of the 2011 Muodin Huipulle (Project Runway) show in Finland, has just returned from Copenhagen Design Week, sponsored by Helsinki Design Week.
Did things change for you after the show?
After the show, I developed a collection for Sipilä. I’m going to make more special pieces, just a bit more festive, using silk and really high quality materials.
And how was Copenhagen?
I went to a few young designers shows, Danish designers, and that was really exciting. It was great to see Gallery, the trade show. I met Bruno from Lumi, Pauliina from the My o My shops, and Yat from 2or+. Copenhagen is lovely, the people are really happy and joyful. There is design everywhere in the city, in the fashion, architecture, furniture, even art. It's a very inspiring place.
What did you learn from Copenhagen Design Week?
In Copenhagen, I gained a new perspective about what I want to do when I “grow up”. I saw how hard the field is for a young designer to promote themselves. You really have to be persistent if you want your own collection to be sold, and it takes many years and lots of travelling. To manage at that level, you need to have a group production and sales, but then again, I’m not so sure I want to stay at that level.
What does this mean for your collection?
I think if I continue to do basic jersey, there are already many labels that are similar. Also, when I look at my own small label from a small town in Finland, there are not enough customers in my area, so I would need to go abroad anyway. I’m going to focus more on designing, and someday I’d like to do work for some bigger company. I love to design, I think it’s my strength. I hope to work someday for a company that already has the sales and production, so I can focus on what I do best.
25.08.2011