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The Designers’ Nest fashion competition Award Winner 2022 is Aalto MA graduate Boram Yoo. Fashion BA student Leevi Ikäheimo is the Exhibition Prize winner.

For her collection, Boram Yoo has explored the history of the forced labour uniform in Korea. One of the staple garments worn by Korean elderly women are trousers with eccentric floral prints, which were originally black attire used in forced labour in the colonial era.

The cheerful floral prints were applied after the war to overcome the horrible past as hyper-eccentric design of an imagined positive future. With floral prints overlaid on the military garment from the Korean War, Boram juxtaposes the stories of war and the optimistic re-appropriation of garments.

The collection captures the sublimation of hardship into eternal value and beauty through hopeful imagination. As her main technique, Boram has “painted” with fabrics by merging fabrics with contrasting characteristics and prints together 3-dimensionally as a de-contextualisation of both the military elements and floral prints.

'Boram Yoo is a designer whose work exhibits exceptional attention-to-detail, a keen sense of historical investigation, and emotional depth', states the jury.

'Her designs speak to fashion’s power as a tool for self-reclamation, and communicate a spirit of eccentricity and optimism – of hope in the face of hardship. Bringing together opposing aesthetic tones and textures – the hard functionality of Korean military garments with plush velvets, or painterly florals with blurred digital prints – Boram’s vision is rigorous, vibrant and undeniably contemporary, making her a truly deserving recipient of this prize.'

Yoo wins 50,000 DKK (ca. 6700 euros) as early support for her work, receives a study trip to UEDA College of Fashion in Osaka, Japan, and is awarded a ceramic artwork created by Danish artist Karl Monies. For more photos of Boram Yoo's collection, see .

See more about the Designers’ Nest Aalto finalists this year
(go to the designers' Instagram/website):

Designers’ Nest is a non-profit initiative that supports fashion talents from the Nordics in their early stages after graduation. It features graduate designers who show high levels of originality, creativity, craftsmanship and responsible design.

Hyères Fashion Competition 2022

This year, several Aalto fashion students have once again made it to the finals of the Hyères Fashion Competition. The 37th competition takes place from 13 to 16 October 2022 in Hyères, France. 

See more about the Aalto fashion finalists:

Congratulations to all! 

Read more: