December 6th is a special day for us Finns. It’s our Independence Day, the day to celebrate the birth of Finland as we know it. In 2019, we launched the Leo product family that features the lion from our coat of arms. For us, the symbol represents courage, solidarity, and perseverance in the face of adversity. In other words, sisu – a quality we, as a brand dedicated to helping people get through the rough seas, know well.  
 
It’s been a few years since Leo made an appearance in our selection. This year, we felt it was high time for a comeback. And we knew just the right person to give a face to all the qualities that Leo stands for. 
For us, this person is Daniela Owusu, the model for the 2025 return of the lion. Last year, Daniela was named as Finland’s Lucia as part of our country’s annual Lucia tradition. This led to an overwhelming flood of hateful and racist outrage targeted at Daniela. Due to the color of her skin, she was not deemed ‘Finnish’ enough – despite her being born here in Finland, at Kirkkonummi.
 
This incident proved that there exists an idea of Finnishness that's narrow, distorted, and discriminatory. This is not what the Finnish lion stands for, and we wanted to take this opportunity to remind that the symbol belongs to us all – and that, when it comes to equality, we still have work to do.
 
We’re donating a share of this collection’s proceeds to Folkhälsan - through the Lucia fundraising campaign - to help support parents and children in vulnerable situations.