Vice Fashion - Postcards From The Big Calf Island

Photos by Juoko Lehtola Styling by Janic Leino The best Finnish saunas are on private islands like this one, Iso Vasikkasaari

by Jouko Lehtola

January 1, 2008, 12:00am

PHOTOGRAPHER: JOUKO LEHTOLA STYLIST: JANIC LEINO COORDINATION: TIMOTHY KÜHN

LOCATION ASSISTANT: NIKOLA TOMEVSKI HAIR AND MAKEUP: KAROLIINA KANGAS

MODELS: EMILE, SONJA, PILVI/EXTÉ SPECIAL THANKS TO: WWW.GULAVILLAN.FI

The best Finnish saunas are on private islands like this one, Iso Vasikkasaari (roughly “Big Calf Island”). You have to take a car and boat to get there, but it’s worth it. The name of the sauna we visited is Gula Villan (“The Yellow Cabin”). It’s from the turn of the last century and it’s kind of a sacred place.

Back when people on these isolated islands weren’t able to go to the hospital for childbirth, the sauna was considered the cleanest and most clinical option. And when people got sick, the sauna was where they were treated (blood-cupped, for example—a charming Finnish tradition still available today, where you draw blood from a sick person’s back using vacuum cups to cleanse them). Sometimes they would get better and sometimes… Well, let’s just say a lot of Finns have died in the exact same spot where they were born.

A normal sauna is around 176 to 212°F. Bloody hot, that is.

TIMOTHY KÜHN

(l-r): Adidas shorts; Vans jacket, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair top, vintage hat

(l-r): Vans jacket, Nanushka cardigan and top, American Apparel underwear; Surface to Air cardigan, Henrik Vibskov dress; Nike Air jacket; vintage shirt