“A bit uncomfortable, don’t breathe or are not elastic.” This kind of feedback inspired the ‘Unelmien työvaatteet’ pilot that was started by Pirkanmaan Osuuskauppa last spring. Papu Design, a design brand from Pirkanmaa, and Lindström, known for a long history in working clothes, were invited to join the project. The starting point of designing the collection was sustainability and locality. These values are shared by all three companies in the project.
Working clothes have an important role for employees, employers and also customers. From the beginning of the project, it was clear that those who will be wearing the clothes should be part of the design process, so about 20 enthusiastic S-market employees joined the design workshop. The collection of new working clothes for S-market employees includes 22 items, in addition to clothing the collection includes accessories so that employees can bring out their own personality while dressing for work. While creating the collection it was a priority that the items would have insightful design that supports the practical work and inspires employees and customers. The collection includes the ‘Antimet’ print and denim blue items.
Papu Design’s print designer and Art Director Hanna-Riikka Heikkilä created a few print options for the workshop, and ‘Antimet’ was chosen as the favorite. The print includes different items that can be found in a grocery store and it was created based on wishes from the employees. One symbol that was requested was a heart, that is an important symbol for S-market employees in our area.
“In Finland it is quite new that working clothes have prints. In other countries working clothes have been more design-oriented already for a longer time. Papu is not known for working clothes, but we were excited to join the project so that we can learn something new. It’s a great idea to combine expertise from different companies”, says Hanna-Riikka.
In addition to S-market stores the project is being planned on expanding to other branches of Pirkanmaan Osuuskauppa, like the Prisma and Sale stores.
Pictures: Aki Rask