Nordic design month encouraged sustainable production and use of fashion

The Nordic design month Nordic Look held in May brought more than 2000 fans of sustainable and original Nordic and Estonian fashion to the Hopner House in Tallinn.

“Great idea and execution,” said Estonian fashion designer Maarja Tali. “I hope that this event becomes a tradition.” “I am pleased to see that young designers are getting support and they are not alone in this world,” added fashion designer Xenia Joost.

The goal of the organisers of Nordic Look was to give designers the chance to exchange ideas and work together. The first temporary pop-up shop in Estonia was set up by Raekoja plats in Tallinn to illustrate the opportunities and ideas, which gave everyone the chance to see and touch the creations of Nordic fashion and jewellery designers.

The fashion and jewellery brands that exhibited and sold their products at the event had never presented their products in such a manner before, either in Estonia or Nordic countries.

The Nordic designers represented in the pop-up shop were A&C, Camilla Wellton, Christina Ledang, De Sade by Mads, Helicopter, IVANAhelsinki, KAKSITVÅ, Katvig, Lotta Djossou, NOIR, Revery, Sonja Bent, Tiia Vanhatapio, titiMadam. The design bridge with extraordinary Estonian design was built by Nu Nordik.

Jewellery by titiMadam, A&C and Lotta Djossou sold the best. The most popular and affordable clothes were the designs of Helicopter and IVANAhelsinki.

The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in St Petersburg has been organising Nordic Look projects there since 2006 in order to bring Nordic and Russian fashion designers together through presentations, seminars, lectures, workshops, roundtable discussions and travel. In autumn 2008 the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia and its partners took Nordic Look to Riga Fashion Week and organised fashion shows, exhibitions and seminars. 32 Nordic designers/brands took part in five fashion shows.

In May this year, Nordic Look came to Tallinn to celebrate Nordic-Baltic cooperation and the 20^th anniversary of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Estonia.

As the activities of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2011 are overseen by Finland, which focuses on green economic growth and sustainable development, the underlying themes of Nordic Look were the environment, sustainable development, innovation and looking into the future. All Nordic embassies, the Finnish Institute and the Danish Cultural Institute helped to make the event a success.

Many good partners also supported the organisers of the event. We don’t want to leave anyone out, but there are some supporters that deserve a special mention:

– the Swedish Trade Council for their committed and effective project management;
– aamenStuudio and Atelje Guernica for the Nordic Look website;
– Ilona Gurjanova from the Estonian Association of Designers for her expert advice and contacts;
– Lilli Jahilo and Tanel Veenre for their opinions;
– Tallinn City Centre Administration and the staff of Hopner House;
– Nu Nordik and the people who looked after the shop;
– the talented young Estonian fashion designer Piret Ilves, who allowed for her white dresses to be used in the opening show of Nordic Look;
– photo studio Fotogeen for organising the opening show of Nordic Look;
– design agency Refleks for designing the advertisements and printed materials;
– Tallinn, the European Capital of Culture 2011, for all of its help and advice, and especially the enthusiastic and competent volunteers.

The organisers of Nordic Look are now thinking about continuing the event – the time, the venue and the concept change, but the main idea remains the same. We want to unite the creative, talented, innovative and sustainable design worlds of the Nordic countries and Estonia. All ideas and proposals are welcome and should be sent to Eha Vain, the cultural adviser of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Estonia.

Nordic and Estonian designers will already meet again in Riga this autumn.