Tiina Nissilä

Kirppuhyökkäys – Flea Attack

Tiina Nissilä’s graduate collection is a playful exploration of children’s creativity, and how they can participate in the design process. As part of her background research Nissilä visited kindergartens and gave children coloring and design tasks where they could design their favorite clothes and choose ones that fit materials and colors. Children also shaped figures from silk clay with color combinations and examined different forms.

The designer believes that by understanding the world of children’s imagination and by providing space for their participation in the design process, it is possible to create clothes that do not only meet adults’ vision of elegance and functionality but that resonate with children on a personal and meaningful level.

The central piece of Nissilä’s collection is an outfit called “Flea Attack”. It was born from the task the designer gave to her three-and-a-half-year-old child with a design brief: design a friend for yourself. The figure has since accompanied the family on trips and taken its place in their home.

– The most intriguing thing about children’s clothes is their function as a gateway into the child’s imagination which encourages creative play, Nissilä says.