Free form fashion exhibition

The outfits designed for the Ateneum Gala will be on display on the third-floor landing of Ateneum, opposite Café Höijer. The outfits will be presented in three different sets starting from 2 December, 23 December, and 13 January 2026 onwards. Each set will feature 10 unique outfits. The final set will remain on view until 1 February 2026, when the Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Vienna exhibition also closes.

The 30 Gala outfits featured in the exhibition redefine traditional forms, releasing form, body, and gender from convention, and opening a view into the beautiful world of Finnish clothing art. Each outfit selected for the exhibition is unique, creative, and distinctive—and above all, reflects its designer’s vision in free form.

The exhibition is curated by Minttu Vesala, Artistic Director of the Ateneum Gala.

Equality of Art Forms and the Modern Free Form
In this presentation, the unique, avant-garde creations of Finnish fashion designers meet the ideas of the Viennese Secessionists – equality among all art forms and the modern concept of free form.

Fashion designer Emilie Flöge, active during the Viennese Secession, revolutionised women’s clothing and helped shape a new body image and design language. Her reform dress, on display in the Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Wien exhibition, liberated women from the Victorian corset, creating space for physical freedom and individual expression. The same spirit of freedom, individuality, and avant-garde design unites the outfits featured in the exhibition.

Outfits 2–21 December 2025
Designers
Anne-Mari Pahkala
Minerva Skyttä
Aurora von Busch
Susanna Saarikko
Amina Saada
Katri Niskanen
Sofia Järnefelt
Tiia Vanhatapio
Sohvi Väänänen
Otto Siponen

Outfits 23 December 2025 – 11 January 2026
Designers
Tuuli-Tytti Koivula
Rolf Ekroth
Sini Saavala
Alex Luonto
Eetu Heikkinen
Anna Semi
Julia Montin
Idaliina Friman
Sofia Ilmonen
Teemu Muurimäki

Outfits 13 January – 1 February 2026
Designers
Ilari Kokkola
Nana Lybeck
Konsta Eskola
Enni Lähderinne
Anna Sarasoja
Pamela Hakala
Linda Kokkonen
Heidi Karjalainen
Mert Otsamo
Jim Bergström