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The Dorothy Waxman International Textile Design Prize Special Jury’s Mention went to Aalto Arts Department of design doctoral candidate and textile design graduate, Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen. 

Presided over by Dorothy Waxman, the 2017 jury was comprised of Royce Epstein (Mohawk Group), Helen Oji (Eileen Fisher), Paul Makovsky (Metropolis Magazine) and designers Lori Weitzner and Sherri Donghia. 

Giving reference to the rain, Hanna-Kaisa’s The House of Rain is a sumptuously-soft range of rugs and cushions in mohair that are a cosy antidote to today’s difficult times. Hanna-Kaisa wanted to see how sketches made with water could be developed into textiles and how sources of inspiration influence the process and the outcome. Her textile’s surface resembles thick, dense fur where original motifs are blurred and almost disappear, because of the richness of the material. When brushed open, the mohair becomes organic and almost animal-like, it even feels warm. Its three-dimensional surface seems active as if it was alive and reaching out.

In addition to Hanna-Kaisa textile design graduates Aamu Salo, Tiina Paavilainen and MA-student Antonina Sedakova from the Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design Programme were among the 15 finalists in the International competition.