Aalto University Knits Dress from 17th-Century Shipwreck Wood

Researchers and designers at Aalto University's Bioinnovation Center have created a dress from the wood of a 300-year-old shipwreck discovered in Oulu, Finland. The Hahtiperä wreck, a 17th-century vessel found beneath a hotel parking lot in 2019, is the oldest shipwreck in Northern Finland. After conservation, remaining fragments were shredded, dissolved into pulp, and processed using the Ioncell method—developed with Helsinki University—to produce silky fibers. Lecturer Anna-Mari Leppisaari machine-knitted the undyed yarn into a seamless A-line dress weighing less than a pound, with a marbled pattern mimicking wood grain. One dress is on display at Oulu Art Museum's exhibition on the future of fashion; a second will be shown in September at Aalto's Designs for a Cooler Planet exhibition. Lead designer Pirjo Kääriäinen emphasized the project's message about material reuse.