A DRESS MADE OF ICE AND DATA: From Antarctica to the Presidential Palace

 

Every year on December 6th, millions of Finns gather around their screens to watch the nation’s most-watched broadcast: the Independence Day Reception at the Presidential Palace.  It is a celebration of freedom, resilience, and national pride. This year, among the dignitaries, diplomats, and designers, one gown returns to the red carpet carrying more than elegance: it carries a melting glacier.

When Hannah Laurila, a prominent voice in Finland’s space tech community and the wife of ICEYE co-founder Pekka Laurila, attended the reception in 2022, she wore a one-of-a-kind evening gown patterned with satellite imagery of Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, one of the fastest-melting glaciers on the planet. The pattern was based on real data from ICEYE's synthetic aperture radar satellites. ICEYE has grown into a global leader in SAR satellite services: it operates one of the largest SAR satellite constellations in the world, offering persistent earth-monitoring day and night, regardless of weather. Pekka Laurila was named Finland's EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2025, and also recieved the Software Engineer of the Year 2025 award together with ICEYE's other co-founder, Rafal Modrzewski.

This year Hannah will be wearing the same dress again, and perhaps now the dress will get the recognition it quietly deserved. 

"I am so excited to be able to showcase this dress for a second time," Hannah says. "I really believe that its Finnish design, creativity, and unique concept were criminally overlooked in 2022, and I'm hoping it gets its 15 minutes of fame this year. 2025 has been huge for the use of satellite data in protecting Finland and its allies, and I love how this dress presents the same technology as an artistic tool as well. Having worked on the first ICEYE satellite, this is a personal creation for me, too."

The project was led and coordinated by yours truly — a woman with a vision, a satellite map, and exactly three weeks to pull off a miracle. I designed the fabric pattern based on the SAR satellite data and oversaw every detail: from finding the dressmaker and selecting materials, to negotiating with the print house and coordinating fittings. It was a full-scale design sprint. But the idea felt too meaningful to let go, to bring together Finnish design, climate awareness, and our country’s cutting-edge satellite technology in one dress.

The final gown was sewn by atelier dressmaker Anna Perez, and paired with Finnish jewelry brand Lumoava’s Aarni collection, designed by Eelis Aleksi Väisänen.

Even more symbolic is Hannah's decision to wear the same dress again. It is a statement about sustainability, slow fashion, and the timelessness of meaningful design.

The dress may shimmer in deep blue, but its message cuts through the sparkle: our planet is changing. And sometimes, the warning signs arrive on the red carpet. Who knew climate data could turn heads in a ballroom?