These are the 10 finalists for the Alpha Nordic Fashion Prize 2025.

Lauri Greis, Aalto University

Photo: Sofia Okkonen / courtesy of Alpha

Pierre Westerholm, Beckmans College of Design

Photo: Peter Hakansson/Courtesy of Alpha

There are schemes around the world that help support and develop young fashion talent. Today in Copenhagen the finalists of the competition Alpha Prize (formerly Designer’s Nest). This group of 10 people, selected by the jury, are recent graduates of schools in the Northern region with bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Although they face increasingly difficult conditions, none of them chose the safe path. There are no traces of quiet luxury here, but there are references to folk costume and active sports.

Alpha herself changes the situation; While the finalists’ collections have traditionally been presented in a group show during Copenhagen Fashion Week “for reasons of sustainability and innovation”, this year’s finalists will be presented throughout the year in different formats.

Here, Ane Lynge-Jorlen spoke to me about the selection process, the challenges faced by designers in the region, and how Alpha can help.

By what criteria do you select panelists?

Design skills, collection integrity, originality, creativity and responsibility.

Have these indicators changed over time?

It is becoming increasingly difficult for designers to open their own labels, and they are increasingly forced to work for others. Their design skills and creativity are more relevant than ever as they need to be able to solve current problems for other labels.

Many Covid-era collections have focused on identity and trauma. Do you feel that has changed?

Identity and trauma remain a central focus (e.g. Mandegar, Lederinn), but there is also a movement that focuses on technical experimentation (Yeruul Ariunsansar, Yu-Chen Yu-Chen Lin, Catherine Kirk).

You write that the focus of this group is on form and material. Can you give some examples?

Catherine Kirk uses recycled packaging and transforms cheap cardboard packaging boxes into high-quality clothing with geometric shapes, wrinkled textures and raised surfaces. Eruul Ariunsansar used metal bones in knitted materials, shaped them into sculptural shapes and added layers of latex coating to maintain their shape. Petra Lehtinen combines design and sustainability using a variety of methods. She added a layer of preservation to the pieces, leaving the indelible imprint of the clothing archive on the clothes themselves. A refugee from Afghanistan and a child worker in sweatshops in Pakistan, Abbas Mandegar incorporates fashion tools—scissors, pins, and sewing machine bobbins—into his clothing as symbols of his struggle and survival.