About Dusty
Designed and expressively created by Marjut Uotila, DUSTY is an avant-garde menswear label known for its presentation of artistic signature pieces without compromising on wearability.
Marjut focuses on designing more sustainable ways to enjoy fashion. Her concept of garment storification sees fashion as a collective experience instead of as a mere commodity.
Designer Marjut Uotila in her favourite Dusty outfit in the window of Liike Helsinki. Photo Sakari Röyskö.
How would you describe your collection?
In my design work I strive to renew clothing design for men and the look of the garments themselves. I am inspired by the possibility to create something unprecedented. I often combine modern handiwork techniques, such as giant knits and braids, with elements from traditional menswear presented in a new way. Three-dimensionality and texture are an integral part of my clothing design. My goal is to be “pure Dusty”, where the garments I design are recognizable outside of seasons or trends. All of Dusty’s garments are produced in Lahti in small batches to preserve their artisanal and unique feel.
What brought you to the clothing design field, and how did Dusty get its start?
I studied fashion and clothing design at the Lahti Institute of Design, after which I did a year of school in Paris and worked in a haute couture fashion house. In Paris I noticed that even in the city of fashion, you couldn’t find alternative menswear. After Paris, I went back to school for a year and created the first Dusty collection for my final project in 2002. I was able to develop the collection in the school business incubator, and I started working with Dusty. Little by little, the collection expanded and found its clientele, first in Finland, and then in Japan.
The collection was shown for the first time in Paris at men’s fashion week in 2007. Paris enabled me to find Dusty’s place and the right sales outlets, and through them, passionate fans around the world.
What is the most popular garment in your collection among your clients, and what is the history behind it?
This is absolutely the Tower collar, which has been made in a wide range of versions for both men and women. Tower expresses the Dusty style well: artistic signature pieces without compromising on wearability. The Tower has a visually exciting handknit collar, and is otherwise a simple and versatile jersey garment.
I designed Tower in 2008, when I was invited to show the Dusty collection at the Pitti Immagine Uomo fair in Florence in the young designer’s New Beat(s) space. Tower also made it into the Finnish Design Yearbook ’08–’09.
Later I designed a dress version of Tower for a Japanese client, which was the first Dusty garment designed for a woman’s measurements. Otherwise I don’t consider that clothing has gender. There are just special people.
What is Dusty’s current situation?
Lately I have been wondering what the competitive advantages of a small designer band will be in the future. I think that the whole fashion and clothing industry is in transition.
Recently I have reflected on the relevance and meaningfulness of making clothing and what I can do as a single designer for my part in changing the fashion and clothing field towards being more responsible. The field has to solve large global issues, from raw materials to the reuse of materials. Both individual designers and the private consumer have the opportunity to drive these changes connected to responsible clothing. My own collection, although it is produced however responsibly, can only reach a small number of people. Because as a designer I however have important information, I feel that my most important role is to share this information in an understandable way.