AALTO Fall / Winter 2018
The Love Records collection revolves around the most essential element of life—love. At once omnipresent and elusive, the quality of love that we explore here is that it’s both inherently real and utterly incomprehensible. Love is weird.
Weirdness, imperfection, oddity, everything unexplained and out of the norm—a coexistence of the strange and the normal is deeply rooted in the Finnish culture since the pagan times. It manifests itself as strongly now as it did in the time of writing the national epic Kalevala, a compilation of traditional folk poetry about gods and goddesses that strangely resemble humans. The tradition of imagining a twisted version of reality continues today with the literary genre dubbed the Finnish weird for its surreal view on our everyday world. On the music scene, the artists from the Love Records label founded in the late ’60s created free spirited, progressive sound with psychedelic notes. The label’s logo is a tribute to love in all its forms. For all its weirdness, diversity and contradictory nature, love provides the ultimate twist to the reality.
Contrasts are at the heart of the collection, reflecting how the opposite forces of reality and fantasy intertwine in our lives. The emotion-driven inspirations are translated into surprising, sculptural distortions appearing on seemingly classic garments. Cropped and twisted legs, sleeves and shapes in tailoring come in thick wools, vintage-inspired striped silk and bubbly purple silk jacquard. On fluid jerseys, bold cuts create unexpected effects when the fabrics flow against the moving body. The clash of feminine and technical is explored in the draped shirts and dresses where straps and adjustable tunnels allow for a feminine play with volume. Recycled polyester jersey gets a second life as formal tailoring. Winter and overdressing as an element of fashion today are explored in voluminous padded coats and pants that ensure comfort and lightness, feminine padded dresses and gloves, and recycled down jackets in shiny nylons and technical cotton.
The Love Records’ iconic hearts of freedom logo can be found on felted wool knits, fur embroideries and labels, zips and patches. The bold red color comes to play also in exclusive Memphis print on fluid viscose dresses, mohair knits and robust jersey underwear.