Thank you.

I really like Saint Petersburg, it is so beautiful. I visited the Hermitage and naturally was very impressed. Unfortunately I did not have time to visit Mariinksi II, but I drove pass it and saw a glimpse of it from the outside. Maybe next time...

Oh, it was up to my expectations and even beyond! The people were really friendly and helpful, the atmosphere was exciting and it was great to meet same minded people and to see what others are doing who come from different schools and backgrounds than I.

What can one say, there's never been anyone like him. The silhouettes, the grace in the shapes amaze me. He was indeed one of the references for this collection.

I love how a that time fashion was still about building dreams. How it wasn't only about the garments themselves, but also about the unreachable behind them.

I'm a typical Finn in the sense that I've spent my childhood near the nature and in the nature. It has a very important part in how we grow up in our country. I've spent summers at our families summerhouse swimming in the lake and picking berries in the woods. So it felt as a natural thing to work with nature, not only by looking at it but also genuinely experimenting with it. I was also inspired by the camouflage phenomenon and camouflage artists - the idea that one can choose either to blend into the environment or step out of it. Therefore I worked with real natural materials like sand, sawdust and grass that I coated some of the fabrics with. I also did some digital prints of these coated surfaces to get some more ready-to-wear pieces in the collection. The spontaneous open silk screen prints are quite unique. I did them by hand to make them resemble even more the reckless movements of the sea and the northern lights.

New opportunities, above all. Hopefully, some new doors will open. I got a bunch of new and important connections. And of course, I feel really honoured to get this appreciation from such high established people from the fashion business.

They are all very happy for me and excited too.

It feels a bit surreal. Before this I was just a blonde girl from Finland that nobody had heard of - suddenly, my mailbox is full of interview requests and buyers who are interested in my designs.

Well, I hope to get a job in a big fashion house somewhere in Europe to learn more and become an even better designer. And then, maybe one day, start my own brand.

I've been very experimental with fabrics my whole time of studying fashion. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I studied art before design, who knows… Working with the fabrics for this particular collection was actually quite relaxing.

Of course it has. How could it not? This is where I live, these are my surroundings, my everyday environment, my culture. For the collection I showed in Hyères I did some research about the revolutionary print design that was made in Finland during the 50's and 60's. When everybody else was making petite floral prints Vuokko Nurmesniemi and Fujiwo Ishimoto, who both designed for the Finnish textile and fashion house Marimekko, did something abstract and raw, almost primitive.

It is actually getting quite interesting. Many young Finnish designers, some graduated from Aalto university some from prestigious fashion schools like Central Saint Martins, have decided to place themselves in Helsinki to start their own labels. And they are good at what they do. Their styles vary from each other a lot, which makes the scene interesting and vivid. I try to do my best to make the fashion business in Helsinki stronger. Infact, I'm part of a group called Pre Helsinki which is now organizing for the first time an event in Helsinki that concentrates on portraying current Finnish fashion to an international audience. www.prehelsinki.com

As I said, right now I'm not thinking about starting my own label. But as designer that's open for new opportunities – well, I guess I have a bigger chance for a brighter future now than what I did before the competition.

Funny you ask that, since me and my assistant actually went to sleep already at 1 am that night. We had been out partying the night before, had not had a good night sleep and were both just so exhausted after the excitement and the relief. So even though the party was great we had to choose to leave early and go to sleep.

They were all really good. Everybody had their own thing going on and their own visions. The technical knowledge was also of very high standard. I was especially amazed by the portfolios that I got a chance to look at during the showroom. The standard and the personal touch of everyone's portfolios surprised me. It's also very interesting to see and hear the stories behind everyone's collections. I believe they will all have great careers.

Oh well, we had some small funny accidents. Like a cat taking a nap in my garment bag. I panicked for a while because I got scared it would tear one of the silk shirts from my collection. In the end, it just woke up and walked away… And of course just meeting all the finalists and their assistants. They were great people and we had a great time.

Thank you Alex.