OVELA KETTU OPERA & POLAR BYZANTINE & more By Klaus Haapaniemi & Co

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IOVELA KETTU OPERA& POLAR BYZANTINE and more

By Klaus Haapaniemi & Co

Images of the Finnish National Opera production of Cunning Little Vixen.

Set and costumes designed by Klaus Haapaniemi, photos by Heikki Tuuli.

KLAUS HAAPANIEMI TELLS ABOUT THE CONCEPTS AND IDEAS BEHIND THE OPERA COSTUMES

The visual concept opened to me as a ballroom like ensemble which would feel like a forest. To follow this it felt natural to visualise the costume design as clothing with references to history of fashion, not a specific time or style but a combination of many. The costume design had to stay light and be flexible and dynamic for moving on the stage but also be visually impactful and detailed with strong graphic silhouettes. It was very important to me to create costumes that would give a direction to the performers for their character studies.

I wanted to use natural materials like wool and silk as much as possible. It was really interesting to get to use the Opera ateliers, the costume studio, hat makers, the dye department and the cobblers are unique in their incredible skills.

My aim was to give each costume a recognisable character and it was strongly based on the hand sewn geometric patterns and the focal point of each outfit are the hats that give each costume their distinctive look. The hats are one of the most important parts of the whole visual concept of the Cunning Little Vixen. The hat like head pieces that are functional in the fast choreography are successful only because the incredible skill of their makers.

I divided the costumes in two categories in my mind. Animals and humans.
Animals I saw as naturally flamboyant creatures who shamelessly flaunt their decorative features and shine. The humans I wanted to show as simpler and modest and almost clumsy crowd who are identifying their social or professional status. Both groups I wanted to unify with graphic embroidery and patterns that would take this production from the world of Janacek to more scandinavian and nordic world with it’s own aesthetic.

The Fox and the Vixen

Main roles were in my mind a lot not only because they are on stage most of the time, but while sketching the characters they were the easiest. They look like they are naturally part of the whole set and pattern that runs through all the animals. Their silhouette is most streamlined, edgiest and most finalised. The stole like tails are coved in fringes and they help the performers to create coquettish and seductive Vixen and Fox their Cunning character. The fox cubs are a cute variation of their parents costumes.

 

The Badger

My interpretation of the badger is slightly introvert, noble loner in his own hole, and I associated the character in a Tudor world.

The Rabbits
I saw the rabbits more harlequin like compared to the more low-key animals. Also mixing the roles sexes made the characters more interesting. A detail I find amusing is the tail combined with a Scottish sporran.

 

The Frogs

The challenge for the frog costume was the wide trimmed hat which together with pleated shirt collar give an impression of the wide frog’s mouth. This was functionally challenging because the frogs jump and leap in the choreography.

 

The Owl

I wanted to make the owl one of the most stand out costumes, partly because it’s role is so short on stage. Starched laces make the owl look victorian which was an unusual subject for that time.

Jay
Just like the owl Jay is only a short but beautiful fleeting moment on the stage. I wanted to make the costume multilayered feather coat with metallic blue and pastel shades. The complicated cape/wing is layered on top and Jay is crowned with a light but humorous cap that looks like a red beak.

 

Guinea Fowl

I imagined guinea fowl as mysterious and provocative creature hiding partly behind a mask, bit like in archetypes of Commedia dell’arte, but also massive and comical presence. Hand beaded velvet cape and complex head piece makes the guinea fowl one of the most memorable characters in Cunning Little Vixen.

Hens and the Cock
Ones of the most successful in use of material and colour as well as fine dress making skills. Starting point for the hats was Inca head pieces. Decorations are based on simple and geometric patterns that are visible from back of the theatre.

 

The woodpecker

The woodpecker is simple and graphic in it’s colour palette and silhouette which I think gives a hint of the singer’s vocal range. Silky materials and applications makes the costume shine like a feather coat and the high shoulders give the woodpecker strong and dramatic masculine/feminine attitude.

 

The Squirrel

I imagined the squirrel flirty but playful creature whose tail would be a kind of fur stole. I didn’t want to use fake or real fur for the costumes but we found an alternative in mohair wool.

 

The Hedgehog

The basis for the hedgehog was Denzil Ibbertson drawing of St. Hlelen prisoner Napoleon. I tried to convey the melancholic loneliness and stubbornness of that drawing.

 

POLAR BYZANTINE FOR MOOOI CARPETS LAUNCHED IN SALONE DEL MOBILE, MILAN

The Polar Byzantine collection by Klaus Haapaniemi & Co. is storytelling in the form of rugs

Following on from the success of their previous partnership, Moooi have teamed with Klaus Haapaniemi for the second time with the release of a series of five rugs - adapting the designs from the recently launched 'Polar Byzantine' silk scarf collection. 

Inspired by the narrative of the original poetic story by award winning Finnish author, Rosa Liksom, each of the carpets tells the story of magical Arctic animals, fleeing the melting landscape to live in an ice palace far away. Thanks to Moooi's advanced high resolution printing methods, each carpet has achieved an almost three dimensional quality and colour vibrancy - drawing you into the mystical world of the 'Polar Byzantine'. The collection was subsequently launched in Milan as part of the Salone del Mobile. 

Rich in both character and narrative, the Polar Byzantine collection by Klaus Haapaniemi & Co. presents the art of storytelling through a series of beautifully crafted scarves.

The poetic story written by award winning Finnish author, Rosa Liksom tells lyrical animal story that evokes our inner feelings and connects our subconscious to universal nature. A true arctic odyssey.

The hand bound collectors book contains the full story of Polar Byzantine and five designs printed on 100% silk, each one representing a chapter in the book. The scarves paint a vivid window into a dreamlike polar landscapes.

Narrated and animated by Vilja Achte, music by Lauri Porra.

 

Based on the poetic story written by award winning Finnish author, Rosa Liksom, each of the five designs represent a chapter in the book. The scarves paint a vivid window into a fantastical arctic world, where the animals escape the transforming landscape into an ice palace far away from the earth.

BLACK LAKE EXHIBITION IN LOKAL

Klaus Haapaniemi & Co. has always had an appetite for crossing over from the worlds of interiors, design and fashion to art and performance. As well as maintaining long-term partnerships with various brands, there have also been a number of one-off bespoke projects which have brought a whole new perception of how the studio is interpreted. With Klaus’ unique storytelling ability, collaborations not only produce beautiful outcomes for both parties, but often create an entirely different creative outcome than originally intended.

It was through this story telling ability that the inspiration for Black Lake was born. Created from an imagined volcanic landscape surrounding a remote lakeside summerhouse in Iceland - and then fashioned into a mysterious abstract print.

 

 

 

The main elements of the collection include a bespoke centrepiece sofa with hand engravings upholstered with the Black Lake print, a woven tapestry intended to be used as long rug to flow from a sofa to the floor, and finally a circular carpet which represents the dark steaming pond, biodiverse with strange foliage, water lilies and mysterious lava stones.

The furniture is custom-built by furniture studio Nikari, the tapestry woven in a British textile mill in Bristol, and finally the mysterious pond carpet is printed on wool in the Netherlands.

Before the furniture starts its journey to Iceland, it will be shown just once at the Lokal gallery along with other items of the Black Lake collection. As a result, special products including printed wool scarves and velvet clutches with the Black Lake print have been created to be sold exclusively at Lokal to mark the collaboration.

 

 

 

As well as this, an additional item will be exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. Lokal will also show part of Klaus Haapaniemi’s Xenia etching series made with master printmaker studio, Himmelblau.