January 27, 2026

Cellotape Talks with Deafmetal, Jenni Ahtiainen

Upon entering the Design & Disability exhibition at the V&A, it becomes immediately clear that the entire display has been conceived with the needs of multiple disabilities in mind. And while such consideration should be standard to ensure accessibility for all, it remains surprisingly rare in the world around us, even in exhibitions. It’s a reminder of why inclusive design matters, and how crucial a role it plays in shaping the way we experience the world.

The exhibition highlights the radical impact of disabled, Deaf and neurodivergent people on contemporary design from the 1940s to today. Through 170 objects arranged across three themes (Visibility, Tools and Living) it shows how disabled designers have shaped every aspect of daily life, revealing the political and social histories behind their work.Among them is Finnish designer Jenni Ahtiainen, Founder of Deafmetal®, a brand creating jewellery for hearing aids.

Words & Interview by Tova Bach

DEAFMETAL®

Cellotape: How did you react when the V&A invited you to be part of the exhibition?

Jenni: It was a year before the inauguration. I started to cry immediately. Positively, of course! It was such a big recognition. Honestly, I felt like ‘I can die now. This is my footprint in this world’, mine and other hearing-aid users’ worlds. I felt honoured.

I think it’s a very important exhibition. Of course I am proud of it, but as you might know, my background is in fashion design. I’m used to seeing my work on red carpets and on people, not behind the glass in a museum. So during the opening party, I got so shocked that I went speechless. I felt like: “It’s not alive. It’s boring. It should be more light.” I finally realised that the lack of people disturbed me. It’s now in a museum. Professionally speaking, that’s absolutely the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, even though I have been dressing celebrities. V&A would have been the first choice if I had wanted to have my art somewhere. I just didn’t know that I had to lose my hearing to do it!

Cellotape: Your story didn’t start with Deafmetal. Can you tell us more about your career in fashion design?

Jenni: My former brand was called gTIE. It started out as an accessory brand for men. I was trying to change the traditional ties and bow ties of men. I started to design different kinds of jewellery and different kinds of scarves from basic materials like silk and leather. I went to the Golden Globes to dress actors, and then to the American Music Awards and to Paris Fashion Weeks. But changing dressing habits for men takes time and patience and when you run out of money and you’re doing international business, you need to recalculate the whole thing as a designer. I didn’t know that I was going to lose my hearing and that it would bring me the possibility to grow new flowers by changing something else better!

Cellotape: How did your hearing loss lead to the creation of Deafmetal?

Jenni: I always knew that I had really bad hearing. In 2018, my right eardrum exploded, and it was my better ear. I was basically deaf. They first tried to fix the right eardrum by taking a little piece of flesh from my thigh, but the hearing never got better. So I got hearing aids. I knew that I was going to get them in my life, but not so young.

I remember when I went to the audiologist for the first fitting of the hearing aid, I told her: “I’m going to make this rock. I’m not going to cover these under hats or anything. I’m going to make these look like mine.” Four days later, I posted a first design. The fifth day, I went to my workshop and I took the hearing aid behind my ears, I made a little glove around them, and I attached some leather strips to them. Then I attached them to my ear, and that’s how Deafmetal was born.

DEAFMETAL® by Tapio Aulu

Cellotape: Why is inclusive design a necessity, not a niche?

Jenni: All people are equal. I see people as horizontally equal. Disabilities are just one characteristic among many. So why not design for everyone?

If you look at it globally, people who share the same condition often represent huge numbers. This is the case with hearing loss, and the number is rising. The World Health Organisation did a study. Based on noise pollution, our hearing is constantly being damaged, and by 2050, every tenth person will have a hearing problem. It’s like human-scale climate change. So we try to talk about it. I do a lot of public speaking to raise awareness about hearing loss and hearing prevention. When your hearing is gone, it’s gone.

Cellotape: Fashion still marginalises – or even excludes – disabled bodies. What keeps the industry stuck in this mindset?

Jenni: We are driven by markets, by making more money with less investment. That’s capitalism. If businesses want to change the world, they will take the opportunity like we try to do. Small brands often want the same audience as giants like H&M: the mainstream. It’s a matter of taste, a certain “taste” in business, in money. Thank God some designers get inspired by real-life people.

I’ve noticed that in the hearing-aid sector, when we work with users and audiologists, many professionals have personal experience or relatives with hearing loss. People have different drivers. My driver is Deafmetal. Dressing Marilyn Manson didn’t feel personally important, only professionally. It was just clothes, soon replaced. Now, what I do gives people meaning.

Model: DEAFMETAL® Founder & Designer, Jenni, wearing ‘Punky Therapist’ Hearing Aid Jewelry from the J.A. Signature Collection, Photographer: Tapio Aulu, MUAH: Mimmu Tamminen

Cellotape: How can we challenge this ableist norm? Is it what you’re trying to do with Deafmetal?

Jenni: I’m not trying to challenge anyone, really. I’m just trying to make people happy with Deafmetal. I’m not trying to provoke anything; I’m trying to serve. That’s my goal.

We can challenge designers, especially designers who have disabilities themselves or relatives with disabilities. We can push them to be braver, to start something different. The world needs people, who don’t waste their talent and make a difference. Thinkers are people who walk their own roads and rocky mountains, people who express their own opinions and inspire others to join. This is how change for the better happens.

Cellotape: So for you, this movement has already started? Do you have a concrete example of this visibility growing? Where do you see real progress happening in terms of visibility?

Jenni: One example: our first photoshoot was with Pirkko, who wore the first Deafmetal’s. Her picture lived its own life. An eyewear company saw her and wanted her to model their glasses. In photos and videos she wore her eyeglasses and her hearing aids. For me, that was a huge step. In my former brand, I had a model named Louisa. She told me she had hearing aids but always had to remove them in photoshoots because brands didn’t want her to show them. Now she’s one of the faces shaping Deafmetal’s brand image.

We could photograph models with normal hearing and stick hearing aids on them, but I don’t want that. I want authenticity. I want people who are really hard of hearing or deaf. Each person has a story, and it speaks to customers. Deafmetal is based on those empowerment customers hearing stories. that we publish.

Bringing visibility to everybody has started, but it’s taking a very long time. We are going in the right direction, and this exhibition is one example. I’ve fantasised with my assistant about how far this visibility could go. We concluded that the day someone appears with hearing aids in a porn movie, we’ll know society has really changed.

Cellotape: Your jewellery is also technical. How do you adapt it to such a variety of hearing-aid devices?

Jenni: There are many different kinds of hearing aids. Everything started with BTE [behind-the-ear] devices. Now I’m wearing a different type, and my jewellery fits these too. Each piece of jewellery needs the fastener part, which you put into the device, and the jewellery itself. We’ve created a quiz on our online store so people can check which device they have and which fastener they need.

Whenever a new hearing-aid or device model appears, we try to innovate. When we launched in Australia, this funny incident happened: people from Medel [Austrian hearing-aid manufacturer] came to our booth. They brought their newest device, an off-ear cochlear implant, and said: “We’d like you to design something to keep this safe.” This is exactly what I want to do. Style and safety. The jewellery makes the aids more personal and keeps hearing aids secure.

DEAFMETAL® Luisa Double Ring by Suvi Berg

Cellotape: Does making hearing aids visible and beautiful have an impact on well-being or self-esteem?

Jenni: Yes, absolutely. We empower people. Some people only want the functional side to keep their devices safe. Some people really want to underline the fact that they have hearing aids. In the big picture, I want people to understand that beauty is personality. Look at Marilyn Monroe. She had a mole – something ordinary – and it became a beauty mark. If you have a scar or bad hearing, show it. It’s part of you. We need to stand out as different kinds of individuals, we are not a blended group of similar looking faces.

Cellotape: Can it even be a political act?

Jenni: In general, I try to stay out of all political matters. But on the last day of December 2025, I got an email from Ukraine. This audiology clinic, with three stores in the country, wants to carry Deafmetal in March. And I am like no filter, you know. I was crying because it’s a war zone. It was a relief to get an email that makes you think that in some parts of Ukraine, people are focusing on the normal side of life, like hearing loss. I am suggesting to them a new design – called Ukrainian Sun – in Ukrainian colours that I designed for them. They didn’t ask, but I felt that I had to do it.

Cellotape: Are there still challenges to work on? What kind of change would you like design to embrace in the coming years?

Jenni: I don’t really see challenges as a problem. I actually love problems: I need them because solving problems is my job. I think we’re missing today a healthy kind of rebelliousness – the kind of attitude the world had in the 50s and 60s, with these iconic anarchist thinkers. What we could do is encourage people to think for themselves, to speak up. People should feel empowered to start new kinds of businesses, not just follow the mainstream. It’s about being brave enough not to run after money but to solve important problems.