Klaus Haapaniemi & Co.

Leoš Janáček's opera 'Cunning Little Vixen' tells the story of a vixen cub taken away into captivity by a human man, as she is maturing into adulthood she escapes to live a free life. As with many children's stories, the plot is not without its fair share of difficult, adult themes - despite the vixen's hopes, life remains complicated and not without suffering.  The notion of beauty is a key theme, however, throughout the opera, making the beauty of Klaus Haapaniemi's costume designs for the Finnish National Opera's production, take on an even more prominent a role.

Klaus Haapaniemi is best known for his eponymous design and lifestyle brand, which he co founded with Mia Wallenius in 2010. As they say, 'their design approach is influenced by nature, Finnish folklore, fantasy and traditional decorative arts with a modern twist,' making it clear why Klaus was an appropriate choice of costume designer for Cunning Little Vixen. Furthermore, since the production's close, Haapaniemi & Co have launched a range as an offshoot from the project.

Before setting up their brand, both Klaus and Mia worked in fashion in Italy, Mia as a senior art director at Gucci and Klaus as creative director at Bantam, hence the level of hand made detail and design in their home-wear collections, which range from ceramics to silk scarves. Klaus is particularly well known for his print work and part of his success with the opera's costume design is it's illustration like quality.