Collections

Dear Aslak collection draws inspiration from the designers own childhood memory of visiting Finnish Lapland the very first time. The raw nature, icy cold winds and wilderness of the exotic north have been creating the setting for this AW 2015 Dear Aslak collection.  The source of inspiration can be seen in the darker colour palette of forest colours; berries, fern trees, heather, frost and rye. The quirky Reindeer Herd print in which the wide-eyed reindeers are gazing at their keeper gives the collection well needed humour and colour.

Imagine driving through a typical small American village. It is a fresh sunny morning and still quite warm when in the sun. You see the wooden houses next to each other with their perfectly mowed lawns and pumpkin decorations on the front porches as the Halloween is approaching. Only one saltbox house stands out, it is this one that has been taken over by a gaze of raccoons... This image was the starting point of the Liisa Riski Autumn/ Winter 2016/17 Collection. An image that was inspired by autumnal American road trip last October and classic documentary Grey Gardens lmed by Albert and David Maysles in 1975 following two ladies both named Edith Beale living in a derelict mansion in East Hampton.

Kontulan Monnit Collection Kontula = Suburb in Eastern part of Helsinki, built mostly in 60’s and 70’s with higher than average concentration of council houses and immigrants. Monni = Cat character, known for a big mouth and nasty outlook of life, in Gösta Knutson’s children’s book called Pekka Svanslös. When moving back from London the designer Liisa Riski had disagreement with her partner which football team their cat Napoleon supported. Liisa could not face Napoleon supporting the team of her Partner and he could not understand why Napoleon would support Liisa’s favourite team. Cat football team Kontulan Monnit (officially FC Monnit Kontula) was born that moment and Napoleon became the number one supporter for this team.  When Napoleon passed away autumn 2016 Kontulan Monnit and the story of the team needed to be told in remembrance of this very special and dear creature. 

Riski Spring/ Summer 2015 Collection Troupes Marinierès is a collection of clothing items suitable for every day situations in the sunshine. The collection relies on the very principle of easiness allowing mixing and matching items form the current collection together with the wearers’ own existing wardrobe.  Riski S/S 2015 Troupes Marinierès collection draws inspiration from exciting moments shared with childhood hero Jacques Cousteau on his travels. The source of inspiration can be seen in the fresh seaside colour palette of blues, greens and gold as well as in the joyful use of print; The Troupes Marinierès placement print references the old French coastal forces and in the Under The Sea print octopi and starfish have joined in the synchronised swim. This is a sight that Jacques Cousteau himself would have appreciated. 

Riski S/S 2016 Safari Rhino Dreams collection starting point was Karen Blixen’s well known book Out of Africa. The collection is drawing influences from the African landscapes and animals as well as vintage inspired safari theme. African desert colour palette of brown, yellow, orange and gold sit alongside pink, navy and brighter green.  

“Magic is always pushing and drawing and making things out of nothing. Everything is made out of Magic, leaves and trees, owers and birds, badgers and foxes and squirrels and people. So it must be all around us. In this garden- in all the places.” The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett This quote from the book Secret Garden served as the very starting point for the new Liisa Riski SS 2017 Col- lection. The idea from the very beginning was to capture the feeling of Finnish summer and to applaud this special feeling to honour Finland’s 100th that which will be celebrated year 2017. In order to make the project even more exciting Liisa Riski joined forces with two fellow Scandinavians; Nor- wegian artist and textile designer Maria Hatling and Swedish shoe designer Maria McLean. The three designers met whilst living and working in London and have been close friends ever since. The Summer Meadow Collection is the first project that the designers have worked together a real labour of love and exciting result of the friendship.

In the fairy tale Jack and a beanstalk Jack trades a family cow for three magic beans with a stranger. Jacks mother believes that her son has been taken for a fool and so is disappointed and throws these beans to the ground and Jack to the bed without dinner. During the night, a gigantic beanstalk has grown outside the family house from the very space where the magic beans were thrown. Jack decides to climb the beanstalk and when doing that finds entirely new world run by a giant and his castle. The world is filled with treasures and riches like the goose that lays golden eggs. Being a clever boy Jack manages to steal some of the treasures to change the his and his mothers’ life before cutting down the beanstalk and connection to the giant forever. For SS 18 collection Peapod Patch collection Jack's giant beanstalks turned into pea pods when designing the print for the new season. Peapods are repeated also in hand knitted details in the mercerised cotton knitwear.