Rolf Ekroth’s Romantic Ode to Finnish Traditions and Crafts

An endless romantic and a forever optimist, Rolf Ekroth is one of the names to watch from the Nordics. The Finnish designer presented his new Spring-Summer 2025 collection, on Monday night during Copenhagen Fashion Week. Entitled “Lavatanssit” (this Finnish term could be loosely translated as an open-air dance and deep national spirit), the collection is inspired by traditional Finnish dance pavilions, a popular passe-temps among the natives who spend their summer holidays in the countryside. 

Rolf used to go to these parties too, and this is as he says « his most Finnish collection so far », his love letter to endless summer nights spent at the dance pavilions, where everything is possible (good and bad encounters, but also drawing in the lake! This is the Finnish humour, of course).

In the vision of Ekroth, the traditional dance attire comes with a contemporary edge, merging safety with dreamy, hand-painted prints and the most innovative silhouettes. Rolf loves traditional techniques: so his collection also features handmade lace collars and caps, a hand-knitted macramé bag, bombers and dandelion jeans, adorned with hundreds of hand-crafted pendants (according to the designer, it took his team, comprising his grandma more than 200 hours to finish each piece, that’s what you call the Finnish haute couture).

But that’s not all. This season, Rolf Ekroth joins forces with the renowned Finnish jewellery brand Kalevala (a legend of its own, the company was founded by independent women in 1937 and is still owned by the Kalevala Women’s Association) to transform his signature rose pattern into versatile 3D earrings. Hand-crafted from 100% recycled silver at Kalevala Koru's factory in Helsinkiand called “The Rakas” (Finnish term for « the loved one »), these pieces feature a flexible clip so that you could place your jewel also on your outfit, styling it with skirts, cardigans, jackets or scarves. Ekroth wanted to go one step further and created a hybrid dress on the frontier with jewelry embellished with 180 earrings: a true masterpiece.

"The goal is to spotlight the more exotic, peculiar, and beautiful aspects of Finland and the Nordic countries. The entire collection's concept, as well as the show, is based on themes from Finland that interest me. Sustainability is crucial both to me and to Kalevala Koru. In addition to using recycled materials, we jointly promote the idea of versatile jewellery and clothing, emphasizing comfort and gender-neutral fashion," explained  Rolf Ekroth backstage, highlighting how seamless this collaboration is and how proud he is to be working with a historical Finnish company with a unique know-how in jewellery design that can support emerging designers. Bref, it’s a perfect Finnish duo!

Discover more looks from the collection in our gallery.

Courtesy: Rolf Ekroth

Video: Vovka Kozubskyi

Text: Lidia Ageeva