At the Intersection of Craft and Art Part 2: Clothing, Value and Esteem

Master of Arts and Young Designer of the Year 2025 Enni Lähderinne examines where the value of clothing comes from and who defines it. The lecture explores garments and dress at the intersection of craft, art, and economics: how authorship, craftsmanship, and context shape what we consider valuable. How does our perspective change when a garment moves from the body to an exhibition space, or from a commercial product to a museum collection? Lähderinne approaches these questions through her own design work and examples from others.

PhD researcher Mari Kosunen from the University of Helsinki discusses the visibility of Finnish national costumes and their prototypes in visual art from the 1850s to today. The meanings assigned to garments have shifted with society's values, and the lecture concludes with a shared reflection on how we value clothing in our time and in the future.

These presentations are part of the lecture series "At the Intersection of Craft and Art," which examines the definitions of textile craft and textile art and their justification from the perspectives of creators, esteem, and livelihood. The lecture series is organized by the Textile Culture Association and Helsinki Workers' Institute.

The lecture can also be followed via live stream on the Helsinki Workers' Institute YouTube channel - the remote link will be added to the page one week before the event. The lecture is also part of the programme at the following institutes: Jyväskylä Civic Institute, Järvenpää Institute, Kerava Institute, Nurmijärvi Institute, Soisalo Institute, and Vaasa Civic Institute Alma.