Travel: Why Helsinki is a design destination

Marimekko is among Finland’s most famed design exports, but it is hardly the only pleasure Helsinki affords fashion and design enthusiasts. Summer is a great season to be in the Finnish capital—the sun almost never sets, and parks and public places are packed with people well into the (sunny) nights. Most attractions—museums and art galleries, churches and fortresses, Michelin-starred restaurants and food halls—are located in and around the city centre (designated as Zone A, spanning about 5km around the Helsinki Central Station). Trams and buses are frequent, but walking is a leisurely shortcut to discovering neighbourhoods and stores.

Start at Esplanadi, an esplanade and public park close to Helsinki’s sea-facing landmarks such as the Uspenski Cathedral and the Market Square. Pohjoisesplanadi is one of the main shopping thoroughfares here, dotted with luxe retail fixtures including Kämp Galleria, where Marimekko is joined by a few more Finnish names. Pop into designer Lalli Savolainen’s store for resort- and party-ready dresses. Klaus Haapaniemi creates folksy and fantastical wallpapers, curtains, and apparel; Kate Winslet wears a vivid blue Haapaniemi kimono in the recent HBO Max series, The Regime.

Pohjoisesplanadi is also home to the Iittala & Arabia flagship store. Founded in 1881, Iittala is a glassware brand so integral to the homes and lives of locals that its rebranding and redesigned logo earlier this year sparked national outrage. New look aside, Iittala hasn’t messed with signatures—such as the wavy Aalto Vase, created in the 1930s by renowned Finnish designer Alvar Aalto. Almost a century later, the design remains a hot-seller. Other standouts include the whimsical Birds by Toikka figures, Kastehelmi glassware recognisable by their dotted surfaces, and the Taika Sato crockery featuring Klaus Haapaniemi’s artworks.

A quick detour towards Keskuskatu leads to Artek, another local institution whose furniture conflates aesthetics and functionality. Take for instance, the “Paimio” armchair—also crafted by Alvar Aalto—recognised by its rippling structure. Aalto originally crafted it for patients in a tuberculosis sanatorium. Or the three-legged, mid-century classic, “Stool 60″ that multitasks as a seat, table, and display unit. Put the design innovations of brands like Artek, Iittala and Marimekko together, and one begins to understand how Finland occupies such a significant spot in the Nordic design ecosystem.

A few more design shops in the neighbourhood worth visiting are located at the CraftCorner retail space and gallery at Unionkatu26 (Eteläesplanadi).

Check metal brand Latimeria, whose salad servers and pasta spoons resemble tall, lean trees. Ehkä Design’s dresses and home textiles portray watercolour prints of sparrows, pigeons, and plants while HuiHui Textiles makes pleated, size-inclusive Vekki skirts. The two stores are a showcase of design ingenuity and the local affinity for handmade hobbies.

Following Esplanadi’s iconic stores, I make my way to Fredrikinkatu street, arguably the best place to find contemporary Finnish fashion designers. I am in search of FRENN, a stylish menswear label. A tightly-edited collection lines the shelves—sleek logo-less polo tees, sharp shirts, trousers that flatter every frame. In the time I spend browsing, there isn’t a man who exits the store without buying something.

A few doors down, the Liike boutique displays an eclectic line-up of Finnish designers—bright and sparkly tiered dresses by Miia Halmesmaa, avant-garde menswear from Dusty by Marjut Uotila, and Studio Lamea’s upcycled Drawstring Bags among other gems. Another couple of hundred metres, secondhand fashion dominates the block, of which the stores Birka and THA Vintage offer tasteful curation.

If retail footprint is any indication, thrifting thrives in Helsinki where a Burberry shell under €100 (around ₹9,000) shares shelf space with a Cos dress for €25. The non-profit UFF Vintage offers great deals and its multiple branches seem perennially crowded. The Relove stores come with cafes, and offer a chicer curation—one of its branches can be found inside the Stockmann department store, located in Aleksanterinkatu (close to Esplanadi).

While in Fredrikinkatu, also pop over to Annankatu in the next block to see the Lokal art gallery and concept store.

Design objects abound in Helsinki, including the in-house stores at the Design Museo (Museum) and the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. But the city’s most popular design destination may well be one of the Moomin shops, starring writer-illustrator Tove Jansson’s legendary characters. At the Esplanadi store, a sushi set catches the eye, created in collaboration with Finnish ceramics brand Arabia, but coffee mugs, T-shirts and stationery are more travel-friendly picks. The merchandise is predictably commercialised, yet the virtue of Jansson’s art lends a dash of her gentle creatures’ magic to the mundane products.

Sohini Dey is a Delhi-based writer and editor.