Finnish designers had their own space during Meatpacking Design District 2008. Hardcore New Finnish Design showcased a wide variety of Finnish talent in industrial, furniture, graphic and even fashion design.

We gravitated towards Anna Ruohonen a Finnish fashion designer currently working in Paris. In her designs Ruohonen aspires to provide an alternative to the ever-changing fashions in clothing. For her a garment is not made just for one season, but rather it should be able to withstand time. Ruohonen’s philosophy is reflected in her work on show in HARDCORE, where she presents her designs under the title Black Classics a selection of the designer’s own favorites since the year 2000. Her emphasis on timelessness comes out in the quality of the construction and the fabrics

The Swedes aren't the only Scandanavians dedicated to denim. The Finns apparently have a yen for the top notch stuff as well. koneHELSINKI (the Finnish word ‘kone’ means ‘machine’ in English) is a design company founded by Finnish fashion designer Kalle Kuusela. The philosophy behind the line centers on the "sameness" of traditional denim. Jeans are often a piece of clothing that has a tendency to look like mere variations of the same theme - despite small changes in fashion, every pair looks basically the same. koneHelsinki’s jeans, on the contrary, show that even jeans can be uniquely captivating in their design. We aren't sure how well they succeed from the small set of samples we saw but we do like the philosophy nonetheless.

Our favorite piece however came from watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva. Son of the prominent Finnish jewellery designer Pentti Sarpaneva, he comes from a family with a long heritage of craftsmanship. He first graduated from The Finnish School of Watchmaking then moved to Switzerland to further his studies at WOSTEP. The Sarpaneva watch on show in HARDCORE is titled Time Tramp. It is a pocket watch made of the used kickstart pinion of an old Harley Davidson motorbike. "The idea was to make something simple and a bit brutal, but beautiful…like life in Finland.” said Stepan Sarpaneva in a QP magazine interview. We were certainly smitten, along with every man we have showed it to so far. Clearly a pocket watch is only appealing to a man if it strays as far away from its foppish history as possible. And it is pretty hard to get anymore "hardcore" than a kickstart pinion from a Harley.

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This weekend was the third annual Spring design event for Meatpacking District Design 2008. With over 35 events and exhibitions that are part of Meatpacking District Design ‘08, it was an exciting weekend for design aficionado already in town for Design Week.
And while it is easy to argue that design and fashion are close cousins, what made MDD08 particularly interesting to us was the happy partnering of fashion retailing and design exhibits that led to the mutual benefit of both. We took a stroll through the Meatpacking this weekend, did a little shopping, ogled exhibits and installations, and enjoyed more than a few complimentary cocktails along the way. We will have full coverage on Coutorture today of Meatpacking District Design 2008.

We believe that when design and fashion come together it enhances them both, allowing us to see complementary modalities. The functional and aesthetic origins of both industries employ a similar thought process of research, modeling, and interactive development that gives the creative process of both a similar trajectory. A rug, chair or storage unit, is in some sense not categorically different from a dress or a shoe. Each product (for both industries share a certain need for salable goods) is meant to dovetail somewhere between form and function. The balance of those competing ideals is what makes design and fashion a fascinating pictures of a cultural moment. By using two viewpoints at once our picture of the here and now becomes that much broader.

Massimo Bizzochi, best known for their cult menswear, played host to The Nought Collective. Specializing in the design and production of contemporary carpets hand-knotted in Nepal, The Nought Collective recently launched its debut collection, titled etu. With four colors, Tracey Sawyer created subtle color changes and hypnotic luminescence dependent on the reflection of the light on the natural materials.

Impressive individualized suiting, the hallmark of Massimo Bizzochi, and hand-knotted carpeting go better together than one might think at first blush. The goal of the Nought Collective is to match the collective with the individual in their forms, blending the personal and the universal. Deeply individual pieces that work across aesthetics and cultural norms can apply to both rugs and fine suits. Just as a well dressed man must blend into his environment and yet stand out so too do the Nought Collective carpets.

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