Tuomas Merikoski is always looking at the potential crossover of Finnish youth and French refinement. He likes to aim for the sweet spot where sophistication cohabitates with nonconformity. It hasn’t always worked seamlessly in the past, but for the last two seasons, the designer seems to be moving in the right direction.
“Or make that a wave,” is the English translation of the young brand’s name. A wave can mean many things: it might be a contrasting panel cascading from this season’s floral print. It might be a cresting blue collar on a trench, or fringe spilling out of a sweater or a swell of an oversize scarf.
Merikoski excels when, rather than overthink things, he just rolls with it. A few of his tailored jackets with switch-back panels—in orange plaid for the daring or slate blue—looked of the moment, yet could probably ride out several seasons to come. A few commercially minded pieces will probably sail through at retail, too.
During a showroom tour, the designer noted that his fashion was highly intuitive. “I like seeing what comes out of the blend,” he said. It will be interesting to see what his next wave brings.
