The Tamesis
Rolf Ekroth planned to move his collection from a catwalk in Copenhagen to a ball/show at a tech club in Paris, but just weeks before the start of the menswear season, the plan fell through. He had things in flames in mind when creating these works (the collection includes a “pyro” T-shirt and electric candles), leading one to wonder if there was a scenario of playing with fire and then getting burned. But Ekroth, a former professional poker player, knew from the odds when to fold: He decided “it was better to move on with life and fight for another day.”
Zooming in from his cramped studio in Helsinki, the designer included a personal note in the text of his series, acknowledging that the combination of trying to cope with current events (Finland and Russia share a long border) while operating on a shoestring was overwhelming. He experiences this existentially and physically as the ever-increasing pile of cardboard boxes and racks of clothes further imprisons him in his showroom-sized studio. “I feel like every season the space I move into gets smaller and smaller, and in a weird way I feel like all the old stuff I’ve done has taken over me and I want to get rid of it. Jokingly, the idea is to light a match and light everything up and get on with my life and come up with something new,” he explains. “But then thinking more about the idea, I had a new perspective on the old pieces, and I decided to redesign them.”
In the past, Aykros has sometimes gotten into trouble when digging into his past through nostalgia. This season the designer edited and expanded existing patterns for a more materialistic approach, putting him in phoenix mode. Compact cuts highlight the brand’s strengths, especially in the sports/outerwear department. Designers returned to a sleeping bag design that performed well and found a way to make the bag thinner and lighter than feathers using sustainable, non-avian alternatives. The materials were cut into jumpsuits, wrap dresses and outerwear used as underwear.
Wild clashes and mixes of patterns, like plaid paired with an abstract camo print, or plaid paired with florals, were present throughout, as were extreme widths. Ekroth created pleats in wide-leg pants and created a width effect by hanging gloves at the height of the pants’ hips. He also revisited the removable scarf panels for fall 2025.
It often feels like the world is burning lately, but this collection’s sense of purpose, preparedness, and protection is balanced with a sense of playfulness. Ekros explains that this is achieved by using removable gloves, a system that every Finnish child knows. Like Pyro, the cartoon cat character developed for this season, the hat has ears. The final look, a complex knotting technique, was created by Ekroth’s most loyal collaborators: his parents. It includes a cat hat/mask and a cutout sweater hand-embellished with tassels in the shape and color of flames. The lights are on.
