House of Wilow saw daylight towards the end of year 2021, when the brand was established online, and our store-showroom was opened. Coming up to this point, took months of assertive and passionate work and far-reaching creative vision of a high-end clothing & lifestyle brand that would credit slow fashion. It was also evident that unisex fashion and the perception of it needed redefinition providing more tones into it and not just the conventional take of masculine clothing.

Fashion design is a contradictory field and criticism towards it - is necessary. This whirl within fashion is also one of the reasons why we set up our own brand - to focus on products that last time, both aesthetically and physically and have the potential to create a higher level of emotional engagement. This shared creative vision of the founder duo resulted House of Wilow.  Wilow is a mash-up word that stands for will and love describing our working methods and take with this dear project.

ANNMARI

My first thoughts about my own brand were born during my maternity leave in 2017 when I had a longer break from my work. At that time, I had worked as a designer for 15 years and had come across many companies with different work methods and processes. From time to time, I thought of how I would do it if I had my own brand. After graduating with a MA in Fashion Design in 2007, I worked both in Finland and Sweden in the clothing industry. After six years of working abroad, I returned to Finland and set up a design studio that expanded a year later when I partnered together with Pauliina. 

One of the things I love about my job is creativity. Seeing my designs on people still gives me that same thrill that I felt when I saw the first jacket, I had designed passed me by. I'm grateful for being able to work by doing what I love.

PAULIINA

The year 2019 became a personal turning point. I decided to finalize my International Design Business Management studies at Aalto University and do some reframing with my roadmap. In summer 2020 I graduated and got my Master´s degree in Art. Almost twenty years working with the clothing industry had caused me anxiety and I felt I wanted to be part of something more meaningful as a designer. It felt natural that the next step was to establish own brand.

I feel very passionate about brand aesthetics and how the brand is communicated to its audience. The photoshoots in which designs are placed into well-curated visual contexts are always exciting and meaningful moment - to see how garments become connected to something greater. Passion is the most important driver in my work, and I feel very lucky that I can say that sometimes I might even forget that this is my job that we are doing with Annmari with our design studio and with House of Wilow.