When people think of Finnish fashion, Marimekko is often the first name that comes to mind.
A brand is born
Viljo and Armi Ratia founded Marimekko in Helsinki in 1951, in a post-war Finland where printed fabric was scarce. The Norwegian encyclopedia Store norske leksikon explains that Armi had joined the textile firm Printex, which her husband bought in 1949, and registered the clothing line under the Marimekko name. The first shop opened in 1952. The brand gained international fame in the early 1960s when Jacqueline Kennedy bought several Marimekko dresses and wore them while campaigning with her husband.
The poppy print
Maija Isola, the company’s principal textile designer, created the Unikko poppy in 1964 in bold pink, red and black on white. Another Magazine reports that it defied Armi Ratia’s dislike of floral prints, yet it became the brand’s strongest signature and has stayed in production ever since. Isola designed more than 500 prints during her career.
Ups and downs
After Armi Ratia’s death in 1979 the house struggled. The sports group Amer took over the company in 1985, and in 1991 Kirsti Paakkanen bought it through her company Workidea, returning it to its roots. The story is a good reminder that bold, graphic prints can have a long life when they are loved.
Sources: Wikipedia: Marimekko, Store norske leksikon: Marimekko, Another Magazine: Marimekko, the Finnish design house, Wikipedia: Maija Isola.
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