Talent Talks: Ruusa Vuori
Trained as a dancer, Aalto graduate Ruusa Vuori moved towards fashion after suffering an injury. As one door closed, another opened; giving us an insight into her wondrous process of creation.
Ruusa Vuori - Look 1 - Image by Sofia Okkonen
Could you please introduce yourself?
My name is Ruusa. I’m a fifth year fashion student from Aalto University. I’m currently living in Helsinki, Finland, where I grew up.
Having graduated recently, how do you look back on your studies?
Looking back at my studies, I feel a sense of gratitude for the experiences and people that made it what it was. It hasn’t been easy. I struggled (still do) to find my place and what context to put my work in. When working on the collection I caught up with something that has been bubbling under the surface for a long time, but that had previously been buried under efforts of trying to do what I felt was expected of me.
What I find captivating in fashion is the presence and the relationship to/with the human body. I ended up leaning toward fashion as a medium after an injury sort of ended what would have been my dancing career. My background was in classical ballet and contemporary dance. Exposure to those spaces has provided me with sensitivity to embodied experiences and that is something I feel is always going to be a part of my work, what ever the medium is. Thanks to tutors and friends I found the courage to explore that field in the context of fashion and art and take time for my working process.
One of the hardest things during my studies has been trying to adapt to the pace. I tend to work very slowly. It’s not only the slow process of handicraft that demands a lot of time, but the process of trying to grasp something. And in those moments the conversations with tutors and friends have been the most important and fruitful thing I got from my studies.
Ruusa Vuori - Look 2 - Image by Sofia Okkonen
Could you please tell us something about your graduation collection/project?
In my BA Graduate Collection I am challenging the conventional boundaries of the human body and seeking liberation from the self, as well as exploring the field of personal space. Borders and crossings are essential: different surfaces, membranes, openings, holes as well as pushing through them. My work is a study of embodied knowledge.
The work emphasizes sensory aspects and the sensitivity to embodied experience developed through my background in dancing. My work has developed by experimenting, in a process where one’s body is the subject. I have tried to listen, to analyze and to illustrate the information the body-subject has internalized and present it in a wearable form. For me this has been a process of regenerating - reimagining an already damaged or restricting boundaries/spaces.
Clothing can expand or reduce the experience of personal space, form a shell or invite in, open or close, draw boundaries or break them. In the process, I focused on very small details even though my aim was to create bigger spaces. I feel it’s important to include those smaller, restricting garments. They can be very distressing, but at the same time, the garment hugs the person wearing it and gives them a feeling of security and freedom from decision as the garment defines how one moves in it. These sort of phenomenons might change the experience of ones self and raise awareness of ones body.
When changing from look to another, the space surrounding you shifts, footsteps get shorter and the pace of your walk slows down.
Ruusa Vuori - Look 3 - Image by Sofia Okkonen
Which materials, techniques, programmes and/or applications are you mostly interested in?
From seed to yarn and from yarn to garment.
The fragile linen threads planted, grown, lured and spun by my great-grandmother in the 1950s are a dear treasure to me. I find meaning in knowing where, when, how and by who they came from. One day (maybe next summer) I wish to do the same my self with the guidance and knowledge of my grandmother.
The hypnotic rhythm of the handwork and bodily movements while weaving, knitting, cutting and sewing have deepened my relationship with both inherited and newly acquired materials. Especially the slow process of weaving with the linen from my grandmother has been an essential part of my process. It creates a moment to settle down and let my thoughts wonder while my hands and legs are in sync, creating something led by intuition.
I’m keen on finding interesting material pairings. Like combining handwoven linen with cheap and old silicone straps and latex, wood with kinesio-tape (the symbolism). It challenges the viewers assumptions and allows new perspectives to form.
Ruusa Vuori - Look 4 - Image by Sofia Okkonen
The exhibition you are a part of looks into the meaning of regeneration. What does regeneration mean to you and your work?
For me working on this collection has been a process of regenerating - reimagining an already damaged or restricting boundaries/spaces. My aim was to expand ones personal space without diminishing the experience of space from others. When wearing a look from my collection the outlines of the body slowly dissolve and get closer to the outlines of the garment. It might affect to the embodied experience of space, change the direction of ones passage or slow down ones pace and in that way is an act of regeneration.
For me pain is somehow linked to my own bodilyexperience and through working on my collection I feel that I have found new perspectives to that. In the process I felt like molting my skin over and over again. And it was liberating. As I wish the collection would be.
How do you perceive the meaning and importance of community within the fashion field?
The community around me and the conversations I’ve had with friends and tutors have had a profound impact on me and my work. It has offered me a feeling of safety, understanding and joy. This being said, solitude is an important tool for concentration and experimenting in my process. It’s a great pleasure to share those lonely hours of work with someone afterwards.
Ruusa Vuori - Look 4 - Image by Sofia Okkonen
NOoF: How do you view the future of fashion? And your own role therein?
To be honest, I feel quite detached from the field of fashion. And I’m not sure what sort of a role I could have therein. At this point I’m keeping my options open for any sort of formats, opportunies, collaborations etc. and continuing my studies.
Ruusa Vuori - Look 5 - Image by Sofia Okkonen