The Finnish Fashion Awards shone a well-deserved spotlight on Finnish fashion on Friday night, 23 May 2025, in Helsinki. The winners represented a mix of established fashion brands and emerging new talents. Today, local designers are gaining recognition for their strong focus on sustainability, identity, and a new sense of community – crafting garments that not only look good, but also tell meaningful stories. Awards were presented in six categories: New Talent, Scaling, Branding, Retail, Beauty, and Fashion Photography. Additionally, three special awards were given: the Fashion For Happiness Award in collaboration with Helsinki Partners, the Sustainability Action Award with LAB Institute of Design and Fine Artsand the Hyvon Award For The Innovation In The Textile Industry in cooperation with the Kaute Foundation.
“The Finnish fashion industry is filled with talent, creativity and great brands. The popularity of the Finnish Fashion Awards underlines how important it is to highlight the success stories,”
said Miia Koski, CEO of Juni Communication, the company organizing the gala.
“Finnish fashion is known for sustainability, high quality, conceptual collections, young talented designers and innovative brands. At the Finnish Fashion Awards we award the best Finnish fashion and designers from the categories of new talent to innovation.”
The Scaling category, which rewards international growth, organized in collaboration with Zalando, saw Marimekko as the winner.
“We are proud to once again present the Scaling award and recognize the remarkable journey of a truly iconic Finnish brand. Marimekko is a true Finnish icon that has successfully expanded its business beyond borders,”
“Finland is an important market for us —full of creativity, innovation, and global potential. As a company that connects more than 52 million active customers across 25 European markets with local and international brands, Zalando is committed to enabling fashion brands like Marimekko to expand internationally and grow sustainably. We look forward to continuing our support for Finnish fashion and helping more brands take their next steps on the European stage.”
“For us at Stockmann, fashion means much more than clothing—it’s a form of self-expression and a way to find beauty in everyday life. We don’t believe in throwaway culture or mass-market trends,”
“Supporting young designers is not just an investment in fashion’s future—it’s a values-driven decision: a commitment to cherish thoughtfully crafted and independent aesthetics instead of disposable fashion. That’s why we support designers like Tuuli-Tytti Koivula—not just for the sake of fashion, but for a bolder future.”
“When founder Aarne Karjalainen was asked about Hyvon’s secret, he would answer with one word: product development,”
said Jenni Karjalainen, representant of the Karjalainen Special Fund.
“The Hyvon Award continues this legacy, supporting innovation and renewal in the Finnish textile industry. Structural Colour Studio is an inspiring example of long-term, cross-disciplinary R&D work with significant commercial potential. We’re proud to present the first Hyvon Award to this breakthrough nanostructure-based innovation that enhances sustainability in textiles.”
