Tag Archives: Saara Aalto

London Queer Fashion Show Returns For its Third Instalment

Marking its 3rd year, the annual London Queer Fashion Show gives visibility to new talent and helps to break down gender norms in fashion.

This Friday, London’s most diverse and inclusive fashion show returns to the V&A Museum of Childhood in East London.

The London Queer Fashion Show stage is home to established and emerging fashion designers and is the show within season to spot new queer talent. The purpose of the show is to express all identities in order for every individual to be recognised and acknowledged.

With dancers, voguers, hula hoop acts, the evening is full of surprises, live and electric energy to split and divide to mainstream catwalks whilst championing up and coming queer designers, with queer models.

Designers for the 2019 show consist of: Gzell, Ellise Lawrence, Plus Equals, Duygu, Insantible Lust, Sophie Cochevelou, Paula Herrera, Vanessa Nicholson, Annam, and The Avenue.

This year the event will be hosted by Ru Paul’s Drag Race and Celebrity Big Brother star x, and walking the stage are models of all identities. From Tess Holiday, Rain Dove and Saara Aalto to leaders and influencers from London’s community like Jamie Windust, Stefan Howste, Kenny Jones, Asttina Mandella, Char Bailey, Helen Scott and Jason Kwan, this event is championing gender-fluid fashion and inclusivity to the core.

Founder of London Queer Fashion Show, Robyn Exton, comments:

“The London Queer Fashion Show is completely unique – we’re bringing together the phenomenal power of both the fashion and queer communities in an explosive experience. This is what real representation and inclusivity should look like, not the tokenism we’re seeing far too often. A stage for all those who exist in our community, real identities, real voices and real people.”

Gates open at 6.30pm for drinks and entertainment at V&A Museum of Childhood forecourt, with doors to the venue open at 7.30pm, where attendees can explore the Selling Floor with over 20 LGBTQ+ vendors.

Show begins at 8.30pm. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.

X Factor Finalist Saara Aalto To Judge Talent Competition In Finland

UK X Factor finalist Saara Aalto – who was a fan favourite to win last year’s series when she reached the final – has been chosen to judge the talent competition in Finland.

The upcoming series will be the first of its kind in the country.

Speaking about her new role, the singer said that she never expected to be a judge herself.

When I auditioned the X Factor UK last May I never thought I’d end up being a judge on the X Factor only a year later!

She added that she hopes her own experience of competing in the show will allow her to help future contestants.

X Factor Finland will be a great journey with my amazing fellow judges!

I know what it takes to go through a competition like this, so I’m gonna give my all to the contestants and share them my experience! Show me your X Factor.”

Aalto believes that Finland wanted her for the role after they were inspired by watching her compete on the UK show.

Finland watched my journey on the X Factor UK because we didn’t have it in our country.

They loved it. So it’s been quite natural for them to ask me to be a judge. I feel I have a lot to bring to it.”

Aalto recently renewed her engagement to her partner Meri Sopanen after Finland legalised same-sex weddings.

The two planned to tie the knot next year, but their busy schedules have left them little time to organise anything.

Aalto said:

We don’t have time to plan it! I did see some photos online yesterday and sent them [to Meri] but that’s sort of it.”

Fans Of The X Factor Finalist Saara Aalto Slam The Show For Not Introducing Her Fiancee

The UK’s X Factor show has denied that it has sought to downplay the fiancée of frontrunner Saara Aalto.

The Finnish pop sensation is the hot favourite to win the contest, having made it to the final three.

However, though the show has dedicated extensive focus to the personal lives and relationships of some contestants in pre-song VTs, the singer’s engagement to Meri Sopanen has gone nearly entirely unmentioned.

Some fans have even accused producers of homophobia, for allegedly playing down the singer’s bisexuality.

‘Why do they never show Saara with her girlfriend? Do they want to hide that side of her?’ one annoyed viewer tweeted this weekend.

https://twitter.com/SophieNewman95/status/805158433645359104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/ItsPasinPhoebe/status/805557194116792320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/itseuropaz/status/771847570440224768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

It’s true, however, that only a couple of Saara’s numerous Instagram pics from the last two months feature Meri, who she’s been with for two years, and lives with.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL8UyNODFoc/

Speaking to Digital Spy, an X Factor insider denied the show had actively avoided the singer’s relationship, claiming it was “not relevant” – despite extensive focus on the significant others of some contestants.

They said:

Saara is totally comfortable with her sexuality and has been very open about it in interviews and on social media, but it isn’t a defining factor for her in The X Factor.

As with any other contestant, Saara’s sexuality isn’t relevant to her performances which are the main focus on the show.”

Recently Saara told OK! Magazine how Meri proposed to her one evening:

I washed off my make-up, put on my pyjamas and sat on the sofa. She just said “Oh, we had a lovely day…” Then: ‘Will you marry me?”

I was like: ‘You can’t do it when I look like this!’ So for me, it was a surprise!”

Before dating Meri – who was a fan that came to see her after one of her concerts – Saara was in a nine-year relationship with one of Finland’s biggest male pop stars, Teemu Roivainen.

 

X Factor Contestant, Saara Aalto, Talks About Falling In Love With A Female Fan

X Factor singer, Saara Aalto has spoken out for the first time about her decision to break up with her boyfriend. The singer decided to leave him after falling in love with a fan, Meri Sopanen.

The talented singer who has gotten through to the live performances, also represented her native country, Finland, in the Eurovision song contest in 2011 and afterwards she took part in the voice for Finland. This is when she met Meri.

Saara told The Sun newspaper:

 My girlfriend – fiancée now – watched the show, liked me a lot and sent me a fan message through Facebook. She wrote, ‘I have never, ever sent a message like this to anybody, but I just had this intuition that I have to send this to you.’ I was like, ‘That’s so cute’, and thought, ‘What a nice-looking girl.’”

A year later they finally met up when Meri attended one of Saara’s concenrts.

Saara describes what happened when they finally met:

We started talking and realised we just shared the same view of life and everything.”

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Saara, at that time, was still with her boyfriend, a fellow Finnish singer called Teemu Roivainen and they had been together for nine years.

He was my producer and band leader. We started dating when I was 15 and we fell in love and we still love each other. But when you grow, you get older and I realised that I would prefer being with a girl. Me and Teemu still love each other like a brother and sister.”

Saara decided to part with her boyfriend and the two girls became a couple. They got engaged this summer after being together two years. Meri has now taken over as her manager. Saara said:

 We are a very good team and I love to work with her. If we didn’t work together we’d never see each other.”

It seems that both girls are extremely happy both professionally and personally and we all wish her the best of luck in the X Factor.