It was just so nice to be there and witness that time. The Soviet smock dresses were very common, and most people had to wear them even though they weren't too fond of them back then. They were mass produced and literally everybody had the same one.

They were made in the Kreenholm textile factory. Before WWI, it was the largest textile factory in Europe, serving the great Russian Empire. It was located in the city of Narva, a city full of beautiful buildings. The Estonian government ended up selling the factory to a competitor, who unfortunately let it go out of business. Because of this, the families of that city who were all working in the factory ended up losing their jobs and had to help demolish their own workstations.

I am trying to find the beautiful moments even in the dark times in history. I also like this idea that workwear can be a flowery dress instead of a minimalist suit. In that period of time especially, I believe our world needed more of that feminine power; that feminine energy. I think, in a greater sense, that energy embodies the source of life.

No matter how I feel about the source material, I try to work with it long enough to find a positive angle and when I approached the archives, there were many different paths I could have taken to making the final selection. I ended up narrowing it down to the ones that could be considered as contemporary prints that would feel very current to wear today. Scanning the fabric samples to print them onto larger rolls to create the collection added a layer to the creative process. In the end, you can't really tell the difference between the original and digital versions and it is interesting to blur the line between past and present.

I was then invited by the curator of the Art and Fashion Exhibitions at KUMU and I quickly knew what I wanted to do because I had already worked with the cotton smocks in a previous project. 77 dresses make up the final work and I ended up choosing 92 patterns, as some of the dresses feature multiple patterns. You can't resist beauty and even if, historically, it was a mass-produced garment that people didn't really think too much about, the fabric makes it special and unique.

The cut of the installation's original smock dress is one that I had developed before; it is from a pattern book from 1964 called ‘'Workwear Pattern Book'' and I took one work smock pattern and updated it. The reason I was interested in working with the original pattern from that era was to experience the space they had around their body back then. The way the installation translated into the capsule is through the fabrics and shape of the smock dress, which you can wear with your favorite belt. Each dress has a label telling you when the print was made. If people are interested in learning more, I would encourage them to research the history of Estonia.

I am very happy that this collection is exclusive to all of you in Canada. It is very meaningful to see this work reach a larger public.