I was born in Helsinki, Finland but live in London. I have just graduated from UCA Epsom (BA Fashion design) and was chosen to represent the college recently at the Graduate Fashion Week. I have always been interested in designing clothes and hope to pursue a career in the industry.
Tell us about your graduate collection
The inspiration for the collection came from the films of Ingmar Bergman. I’ve always loved the melancholy and the silent anxiety of his films and especially the female characters have intrigued me. The way they shut away from love and physical touch even though they long for it and how they remain silent and in control even though inside they’re screaming. Religion always plays a big part in Bergman’s films. The priests and religion almost have this sort of evil presence in the scenes. For these reasons I also looked a lot into religious wear and the constrictiveness of a nun’s and priest’s habits. One aspect of Bergman’s films that influenced me a lot too was the children and their costumes. The children in the films for me always represent the innocence and the hope in life.
Talk us through the process you went through to do your final collection
The whole process took about 6 months, from the initial idea to the show. First I watched the Bergman films again and made notes on what is it in them that I wanted to use for inspiration. After that I started compiling my sketchbook and researching more into my subjects. From the research I came up with initial design ideas and developed them further. My main design idea was to cut “all in one”, big geometric shapes that would wrap around the body. Once the initial design line up was ready I started to make the first outfits in toile and developed the collection through numerous fittings. The best part of the process was when I started making the outfits in final fabrics and seeing the whole collection come to life.
Where can Keep the Wolf readers buy your clothes?
I am reviewing various offers at the moment. Anyone interested should email me at veera_kerimaa@hotmail.com for further information.
Where would you like to be selling your future collections?
The Dover Street Market store has always been one of the most exciting stores in London for me.
What does the future hold for Veera?
Hopefully to work in fashion and gain more experience and develop & grow. Eventually to start my own business and be able to live from doing what I love.
We at KTW hope to see Veera and her work very soon in the future.
