The New Vanguard: Finnish Designers VAIN and vitunleija® Take New York Fashion Week by Storm
The world of fashion is no stranger to bold statements and transformative creativity, but this season at New York Fashion Week, two Finnish designers are leading a revolution that blends cultural commentary with cutting-edge design. Emerging designers VAIN, led by creative director Jimi Vain, and vitunleija®, founded by Bakari Diarra, have taken center stage, each bringing their unique vision of streetwear and fashion to the global stage. Both brands, deeply rooted in their Finnish origins, showcase a blend of nostalgia, street culture, and forward-thinking sustainability, offering something fresh and authentic.
VAIN, known for its interdisciplinary approach, challenges conventional ideas of love through its Spring/Summer 2025 Collection. Jimi Vain’s alternative take on love, expressed through an unexpected mix of romantic motifs, edgy fabrics, and sustainability efforts with upcycled materials, sets a bold new direction for the brand. Meanwhile, vitunleija®'s 'lo Capsule Collection, which pays homage to streetwear and hip-hop culture, redefines classic pieces like the polo shirt, injecting them with the raw energy of Chicago drill music and early 2010s youth culture. With both brands making their New York Fashion Week debut, the fashion world is about to witness the innovative energy of Finnish fashion.
As these two trailblazers make their mark, they not only represent the rise of Finnish designers on the international stage but also set the tone for where fashion is headed—toward deeper meaning, cultural significance, and a redefinition of traditional styles. Resident Magazine had a chance to catch up with Finland’s exciting new designers at a presentation held at the Finnish Consul General’s residence on Fifth Avenue during NYFW.
For Jimi Vain and Roope Reinola of VAIN:
VAIN has quickly gained a cult-like following through various viral projects. How do you approach creating designs that resonate so deeply with your audience?
We love what we do and trust our intuition with doing stuff. Not trying to impress others and being as genuine as possible, getting inspiration from daily life and culture. Subtle cultural references have always been present in our designs. It’s also about focusing on our brands core which is providing an alternative aesthetic for love. Love doesn’t look the same for everyone and is most definitely not pink heart balloons and chocolate. Doing your own thing always pays off.
Your collaboration with McDonald's, where you upcycled old uniforms, was a unique intersection of fashion and sustainability. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind this project and its reception?
We’ve always been doing upcycled items and when McDonald’s asked for us to design a collection for them, we instantly though that it should be done from their old workwear. The old workwear has familiar colors, designs, logos etc. so it was fun to play with the silhouettes as the McDo brand was always following the final design. We played with the idea of McDo being strong brand on the rural areas of Finland where we grow up and McDo was the one thing overseas that was present. It was also a place where we hangout with friends, and we have many memories associated with McDo.
As you unveil your Spring/Summer 2025 Collection, what themes or concepts are you exploring, and how do they reflect the current state of the fashion industry?
VAIN challenges the conventional perception of love, from pink heart balloons and chocolate, presenting it in all its beauty and harshness providing an alternative aesthetic for love. Love doesn't look the same for everyone and shouldn't be earned; it should be ever-present. With SS25 we’re focusing on our own brand and its core. Not taking a stand on industry this season but just standing strongly behind our own mission of bringing heart into people’s lives. Every product we make has a heart in it. We believe that every heart we put out on the world brings something good with it.
How has your interdisciplinary approach influenced the evolution of VAIN, and what can we expect to see from your brand in the near future?
We’ve been doing a lot of stuff but the fashion as a medium of course gets the most attention. I think we’re going to focus on that for the next seasons and see what comes after.
VAIN has built a strong community in a short span. What strategies have been most effective in engaging your audience, both online and offline?
Genuine content and cultural references, there’s no silver bullets and the only right answer is interesting stuff that people are eager to share with friends. We play with a surprise effect a lot and trying to do things that the community is not always expecting.
For Bakari Diarra of vitunleija®:
vitunleija® has become an icon in Finnish streetwear and has a strong presence on social media. How has social media shaped the brand’s identity and growth since its inception in 2018?
Since inception, social media has become one of our biggest tools. We’ve grown in social media and with it being such a huge part of the brand, we’ve learned to adapt to the fast trend cycles of it. We never had any outside financing or paid marketing, so social media has been the platform for us to reach our audiences.
Winning 'Most Engaging Social Media' at the Finnish Fashion Awards is a significant achievement. What key elements do you focus on to create content that resonates with your audience?
We approach social media quite impulsively to keep the raw feeling and connection to our audience. Often, when we’re shooting new lookbook photos, they’ll be online within two hours of the shoot. Everything is done in house, so everyone involved has a great understanding of the brands identity. While we work fast, we work super surely.
As you make your debut at New York Fashion Week, how does this collection reflect your journey and the evolution of vitunleija®?
The classic fashion week cycle, collection based creating has never really been our focus. Alongside our already established classic pieces we’re presenting the vitunleija® ’lo Capsule Collection. It pays homage to our deep roots in streetwear and hip-hop culture. The capsule collection reimagines the items like the traditional polo shirt, transforming them from their origins with a more conservative audience to a key piece in contemporary youth culture, influenced by figures like Chief Keef.
Music and streetwear often intersect in powerful ways. How has vitunleija® integrated into the music scene, and how does that influence your design process?
Music and Streetwear really go hand in hand and quite naturally. Whether it’s our design team or the rappers performing at our live shows, we’re all friends at the end of the day. It’s mostly about “what we could do together”. The events are where our whole brand ethos come together. We do this for the community. Followers on social media are one thing, but seeing everyone come together in the same place at the same time is unmatched. It’s amazing to create lasting memories for people by bringing their favorite artists together in a manner that can’t be seen anywhere else. Also, we do a lot of stuff for free to give back to the people. We used to be the kids in the crowds.
Finnish fashion is gaining international recognition. How does vitunleija® represent Finnish culture on the global stage, and what do you hope to bring to the international fashion scene?
We believe the best things happen quite naturally. You could call us coming here a market study, we’re poking around and seeing what our place would be in the international stage. The scene we’ve got going on in Helsinki is really vibrant and special. While we’re pushing our own agenda, vitunleija® is also a front for all of Helsinki. For a long time, streetwear in Helsinki used to be really similar to what people were doing here in NYC, but at a tiny scale. What we’ve done at vitunleija® is take it to the next level and push it to the mainstream from the underground. We gave the market what wanted, and others have followed in our footsteps.
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