Elina silina

Elina Silina obtained a BA degree in Fashion Design from the Latvian Academy of Arts in June of 2021 and her MA degree in Fashion and textile design from Aalto University in 2023.
In her artistic process, she constantly explores various disciplines integrating her background in fine art with design studies and craftsmanship. For Elina, fashion is more than just a means of producing clothing. It is an artistic language that lets her explore and express concepts that are profound, at times deeply personal and even uncomfortable or frightening. Her current areas of interest and exploration are traditional Latvian cultural heritage and human emotion and experience-centered design.
Elina gained her first experience in the business side of fashion during her internship in the distinguished and internationally well-known fashion label “MAREUNROL'S”. This also raised her awareness of the importance of mindful consumption as well as facilitated the discovery and development of her artistic handprint.
She has a vivid interest in cinema, in particular, how clothing can be used to create and showcase a character and tell a story. She has participated in costume design teams of multiple international movie projects and worked alongside internationally well-established costume designers such as Liene Dobraja, Rolands Peterkops, Monica Petit, Ulrika Sjölin and Metin Misdik.
When making her own collections, the story and concepts are always present. In this year's fashion festival Hyères36, she participates with the collection “For Sally” (2020). Here the artist expresses her gratitude towards her mother and grandmother who taught her how to knit and crochet and emphasizes the importance of family, especially during this uncertain and frightening time of the pandemic. With the BA collection “Bedwetter”, she explores a serious social problem in Latvia - domestic violence. Growing up as a chronic bedwetter and battling anxiety as an adult have shaped the core ideas behind the concept of this collection.
Elina aims to become an internationally well-established and mindful artist whose unique ways of self expression promote slow fashion and sustainable consumption. She is a strong advocate of sustainable living whilst not sacrificing the artistic voice and creativity. These principles have been employed in her collections where she combines passion for handicrafts, tailoring and design as well as use and search for recyclable/-ed and novel sustainable materials.