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Some of the most exciting designs emerging from the world of sustainable fashion are those utilizing uncommon materials. There are gowns sculpted with grass roots, sequins made from algae, and electrical wires woven into lace. Now, researchers and designers at Aalto University can add another unusual substance to that list: the remains of a 300-year-old wooden shipwreck.
In 2019, a hotel in the Finnish city of Oulu undertook renovations that uncovered a 17th-century vessel buried beneath a parking lot. Called the Hahtiperä wreck, the finding was the oldest of its kind in this region, prompting conservators to raise the seven-by-20-meter ship for preservation. A few fragments remained, though, and researchers from Aalto’s Bioinnovation Center seized the opportunity to save these bits from the trash.
According to UNESCO, wrecks can be raised and conserved for justified reasons. The Hahtiperä wreck was conserved because it is the oldest shipwreck discovered in Northern Finland. Photo by Minna Koivikko/Finnish Heritage Agency
After removing the outer layers, designers shredded and dissolved the wood into pulp. They then utilized their trademarked Ioncell process—developed in collaboration with Helsinki University—which recycles materials like paper, straw, and other textile waste into silky fibers.
Lecturer Anna-Mari Leppisaari was responsible for machine-knitting the undyed yarn into a pair of seamless dresses, one of which is on display at Oulu Art Museum for an exhibition about the future of fashion. A sleek A-line shape, the garment’s marbled pattern mimics that of wood grain. It weights less than a pound.
“Of course, a shipwreck is an exceptional case, but it’s also a story that makes people pause and appreciate materials in a new way,” lead designer Pirjo Kääriäinen says. “If something this beautiful can be made from centuries-old wood, why do we keep throwing away materials that could still be circulated and reused?”
The second dress will be on view in September for the university’s Designs for a Cooler Planet exhibition. (via The History Blog)
Shipwreck materials. Photo by Esa Kapila
Anna Mari Leppisaari knitting the dress. Photo by Anna Berg
Inge Schlapp making the fiber. Photo by Anna Berg
The preserved section was about seven meters wide and around twenty meters long. The part visible in the picture will be conserved and put on display in an exhibition at the Oulu Museum in the new museum and science center, Tiima. Phot by Minna Koivikko
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