Finnish fashion design is typified by textiles and excellent functionality. At the same time, there are also young designers who sometimes pursue defiantly contemporary designs.

During Helsinki Fashion Week, held in Helsinki in May this year, Finnish designer Sass Kauppi announced his new project, Triple SU (SSSU), in the form of an installation. We visited his atelier, where he pursues an edgy and spontaneous world in a country characterized by a cautious and reserved national character.

©️Lina Jelanski
After studying fashion at a university in Helsinki, Kauppi majored in menswear at Central Saint Martins, a prestigious art school in London, England. Her 2011 graduation collection, featuring high-end sportswear, garnered attention. After graduating, she launched her own brand, SASU KAUPPI, and released approximately 10 collections. Her items were stocked in select shops around the world, including Japan. However, she admits that with each collection, she began to feel exhausted by the speed of the process. Five years after its founding, the brand decided to take a break.



"I was getting tired of releasing collections at most four times a year, and at least two, so I decided to put everything on hold for a while. After that, I temporarily relocated to Los Angeles, USA, and started working on Kanye West's collaboration brand with Adidas, Yeezy Boost (YEEZY I was involved with the brand "Sass Kauppi" (BOOST). I launched my own project, Triple S.U. (SSSU), in 2016 after returning from the United States. Unlike with Sass Kauppi, I started with a casual approach, just trying things out while observing the audience's reaction. That's why I don't call it a brand, but rather a project."


©️LinaJelanski

Although she does have some items designed for women, her designs are primarily unisex. Kauppi describes her designs as men's clothing for men and men's clothing for women.

"I've always thought it was really cool when women wore men's clothes. So rather than designing with women in mind, I wanted the wearer to be able to enjoy their own style. The brand name is written as SSSU and called Triple S.U., but you can call it whatever you like (laughs). Many of the design details are inspired by sportswear. Sportswear is made with comfort in mind above all else. I wanted the theme of my project, an "unfinished, slightly quirky, spontaneous look," to reflect the functionality of sportswear."



Because Triple SU is wearable and seasonless, in some ways, Kauppi considers it a more commercial form of fashion expression. Kauppi's first collection, presented as an installation, is closer to his ideal.

"The response from the audience has been excellent. I think the power of social media has also been a factor. Most of the models I used this time were discovered by my assistant on social media like Instagram and approached. Some of them were rappers and actors. I incorporated their own accessories into the styling and let them wear their shoes freely. I was tired of renting models from agencies, as I had done in my previous work. So I thought it would be interesting to highlight the personal appeal of the people and have them wear the clothes in real life."

The production is scheduled to begin this year, starting with basic T-shirts and caps. It will be interesting to see what kind of changes his ideas will bring to the Finnish scene.



>>See [Series] Fashion in Finland