“He Shoots! He Scores!”

– As a queer man the world of sports has always presented itself for me in two contrasting ways. On one hand, it embodies overtly masculine environment which often excludes people like me but on the other hand, its display of certain kind of masculinity has become a stable part of gay iconography. This paradox inspired me to create my collection, Joona Hakala tells.

His graduate collection draws inspiration from ice hockey, exploring the shapes and details of the hockey player’s uniform combining it with queer imagery.

– My visual research included Stanley Stellar’s photography and gay erotica. It was fascinating to see how men were presented, what was shown and what was hidden and what is considered “sexy” in the context, and I tried to bring that feeling to my collection.

In addition, object analysis was an important part of the process as it served as a way to examine the details and the feeling of the ice hockey equipment and the materials the clothes are made of. The silhouettes and the cuts in the equipment became the starting point for patternmaking. With the selected materials like wool, cotton, and leather Hakala wanted the collection to feel like actual clothes rather than sportswear. Besides these, the collection includes knit mimicking jockstraps material which is yet another gay erotica staple and netting from the goal keeper’s glove.

The collection seeks to deconstruct the concept of hegemonic and heteronormative masculinity prevalent in sports culture. Doing so, it aims to challenge these conventional notions and celebrate the diversity of masculinity and sexuality.

Contact information:

Joona Hakala

joona.hakala@aalto.fi

(+358) 050 911 4510

@jonttuli