FINSK by Julia Lundsten
Julia Lundsten launched her label FINSK in 2004. London based, Finnish born Lundsten has established herself as a designer with a strong vision and unique, directional style. The renowned FINSK wooden wedge is already a 21st century style icon. Lundsten graduated from London’s Royal College of Art in 2003 and won the prestigious Manolo Blahnik Award two years running, the Finnish Young Designer of the Year Award and the Smart Car Design Prize.
With an architect father and interior designer mother, Lundsten has cultivated an eye for design, clearly reflected in her work. Some of her biggest inspirations have derived from architecture, including buildings and furniture details as well as structures found in nature. Likening a shoe to a chair, Lundsten views the heel and sole as the chair legs, with the upper, the seat.
Lundsten’s unique, modern designs are avant-garde yet supremely wearable. She cleverly uses contrasting leathers and wooden sculptured heels to create design masterpieces. The natural beauty of locally sourced materials is a significant component of each collection, each pair of shoes being handcrafted in an atelier in Brazil. The production process is as ethical as possible and all leathers used in Lundsten’s designs are by-products of other industries.
